Surprise Package - Erotics
by Ladiosabri
Summary: For those people who want them, here they are. Some are alternates, they SAY alternate, others are the erotic version of REGULAR storyline. See title in notes in story line or PM me for questions! ENJOY! XD
1. Chapter 1 - Forced

The moment he had entered the science lab of P43-252 he should have known, but despite everything in his gut telling him that he was correct in his assumptions it wasn't until the words left the tall man's mouth that he knew his fears to be true.

"The only species we have yet to study is the Taur'i, so you must understand how excited we were to see you come through that gate."

The words would have been just that, words, had it not been for the fact that equally as large armed men, the copper of their large armaments seeming to gleam off of their purple skin, blocking their way to the gate.

"J'onn'o'vhan, if you would just allow us the opportunity to return to our home world, we are happy to provide you with volumes of research on the matter, videos, whatever you would like," Daniel offered quickly, again, but he knew it wasn't going to work. They wanted a live demonstration and they were not going to take no for an answer. He felt her quiver behind him and a sniffle, reading her mind without even needing to look at her face.

_I promised I'd protect you..._

"Dr. Jackson, considering what your people are asking of us I think it is a simple request," their host continued, eyeing Adrienne. It had been a bad idea, he cursed himself, a bad idea to take only four on this trip. A simple negotiation should not have taken more than he, his assistant, Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c, but right now more than ever he wished Vala was here.

This just wasn't fair to Adrienne, after everything else she had been through in her life.

_Ad, I'm trying..._

"Then, we withdraw our offer. We can find the naquadah elsewhere," Daniel spoke quickly, J'onn'o'vhan shaking his head in reply.

"No, the agreement from your superiors stated that you would provide us with the knowledge that we were seeking and now you are here. You will fulfill your end of the bargain and then you may leave," he repeated, his same argument that made Daniel stand from the table and lead the group away, refusing to take part. There was a thud to his left, the archaeologist peering over his shoulder to see where the two imposing guards had hit Teal'c again, rendering him unconscious. His eyes darting nervously, Cam remained still, for fear of what they might do to his team should he speak up himself.

Sighing Daniel peered back at the gate, knowing there was no other choice. The contract had been clear, but like a bad movie where the genie grants wishes using the most literal interpretation, these people were doing much the same with their agreement with command.

They wanted a demonstration and they were not going to let them leave until they got it.

Mostly like reading his mind Adrienne shuddered, reaching out for his arm. He stood for a moment, frozen, glancing around the scene unfolding, knowing instantly what had to be done.

_I am so sorry..._

"I'll honor your agreement," he stated, reaching out for his assistant's hand, pulling her closer. If this had to happen, if this was what it took to stay the execution of his friend and possibly all of them, he would be the one to do it.

Because she didn't have a choice.

And he wasn't about to let anyone else near her.

Nodding, the man used his eyes to direct the remainder of his guard to lead Daniel to the observation room, Adrienne in tow behind him.

She sat on the floor of the warm yet dark room, her knees drawn to her chest, her head resting on them. Daniel took a free moment to eye the room, noting the two way mirrors to his upper left and shuddering at what exactly might be going on on the other side.

"Ad, I'm so sorry," he said as soon as his eyes traced back to her, the cajun shaking her head already.

"No, Teal'c can't take anymore. It's ok," she whispered and he knew she meant it; she was that kind of person and despite the terror in her face she would have made the same decision as him.

"Well, I promise I'll - " he started to explain, to try to talk to her when there was a loud buzz, followed by a voice clearing over some loudspeaker system set up around the small room.

"Dr. Jackson, we are ready for you to begin the demonstration," the voice announced, not J'onn'o'vhan but that scientist from this morning, Iso, the one who had first brought it up. Breathing deep, Daniel looked around from somewhere to answer, opting instead to just shout out into the room.

"Humans do not work like that, we cannot simply jump into it," he retorted, Adrienne already trembling, making him rush to her side.

"Shhhh...it's me Ad, please," he pleaded, taking her into his arms and kissing her head. She'd already removed her tac vest, jacket and boots, sitting here on the floor in a black tank top and BDU pants, her white socks seeming out of place. Noting this, he did the same, stripping off enough to match her, before pulling her into his warm embrace.

"I'm scared," she whimpered in his chest, although of what exactly he wasn't sure. He knew about her past, her pain, but to be put on display could have been upsetting her just as easily. Regardless, he held her tighter, kissing her head, her temple, holding his cheek to her own.

"I swear I won't hurt you," he vowed, feeling her arms wrap around him, her face nuzzle closer.

"What part of the ritual is this?" that voice asked again, Daniel realizing that the stalling was over. He started to reply when he felt movement at his breast, a head pop up, gazing right at him.

"There's no way out. We just need to get it over with," she whispered, reaching her hand gently to his face, pausing a moment, capturing him with her dark eyes. It was too much, even here in this horror she was too gorgeous, and he reached his palm to her cheek bringing their lips together. There was a faint taste of sweet on her lips, the flavored water she had been drinking, and she was so soft and warm. He felt pressure back, she was kissing back, just as slow, arousing him, his tongue slipping into her mouth to explore. He felt a touch, a light slow flick, sending him into a frenzy, making him kiss her faster, frantically. He was lying her down, pulling his body on top of hers when he felt movement at his lips, her tongue retracting, his dear friend pulling away.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away," he apologized quickly having forgotten himself the moment their skin touched.

"It's ok, I like the kissing," she whispered back, caressing his face.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're a good kisser," she answered to his surprise, biting her lower lip shyly. His eyes darting around again, knowing he was being watched, that they were being watched, but you wouldn't know were it not for the fact that they had been led here for that purpose.

"Then I'll kiss you again," his libido working his mouth. He kissed her with even more passion last time, deeper, feeling moment under his body as she brought her left leg up, wrapping it around his waist, pulling him closer to her body before pausing as if embarrassed.

"Sorry, natural reaction," she choked out, Daniel halting her retreat.

"It's ok I like that reaction," he answered, drawing her closer, reaching underneath. Breathing in she let him, opening her mouth as she brought herself closer, kissing his slowly once more. His hormones in overdrive, he reached behind her back, down to her butt, squeezing, kneading, touching her in a way he never had before. His fingers wandering, he paused yet again as he reached the space between her legs, not allowing himself the pleasure before asking.

"Is this alright?"

"Yeah," she panted, breathless, her body grinding against his own, that same place now curving, rubbing against the hardness forming in his BDU's. There was hissing, Adrienne pushing herself against him before freezing, her lips pulling away.

It's too far.

He couldn't do this to her, no matter what they wanted.

There had to be another way.

"We can stop," he offered in her ear so their observers wouldn't hear, Adrienne shaking her head as she brought her lips to his own.

"No, we have to do this," she whispered in reply, trembling slightly but determined. She was right, they could do this and he could only think of one way to make this better for her. He reached down slowly to her side, taking her hand into his own, slipping it between them to the top of his pants.

"Here, you do it."

"Do what?" the voice was timid and scared.

"Open my pants," he explained plainly, hearing her suck in breath at the command.

"Daniel, I - " she started to stammer, Daniel leaning in to silence her with a soft kiss, which she returned without question.

"It's okay, I promise. You lead," he instructed, moving her hand, guiding it with his fingers to the first button. She hesitated at first, but he reached back again for her chin, redirecting her mouth and kissing her once more, feeling her brave fingers getting to work. She undid the buttons slowly, one by one, taking only a moment before he felt freedom from the restriction of the outer layer of fabric and then a palm over his underwear, cupping him and squeezing gently. It sent waves through his body, of confusion and pleasure, making him throb in return.

"Wow," she muttered, running her open palm slowly back and forth.

"I'll take that as a good thing," he answered, moving his hips to encourage her touch further.

"Yeah," was the reply and then the squeeze, Daniel unable to contain his own enjoyment hissed in, bucking his hips slightly. He wanted to just lay there, tell her to keep toying, but that wasn't what they wanted, they didn't want heavy petting, they wanted a demonstration of human reproduction. He pulled her pelvis closer to his own, trapping her hand between them. scaring her, trembles once again his response.

"Adrienne, I know you're scared but I can make this pleasurable for you, if you want me to," he offered without thinking as if that was what was wrong, that she wouldn't enjoy it or something. I am such an idiot, he scolded himself, as she once again started to pull away.

"Daniel I,"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I didn't mean to," he stammered back, his turn to be shut up with a kiss.

"No, do. I'd like that," she muttered as she started pulling away again, restarting her slow caress, the throb in his pants beginning once more.

"Ok, just keep touching, just gentle, let me take these off," he directed, his body willing, his dear friend willing, the watchers staring on. He needed to ignore that, so he leaned in, kissing her so softly, caressing her face, holding her gently, his lips to her ear.

"Adrienne you're so special to me. If that had to happen at all, I'm just glad its you and me," he admitted, untucking her shirt and kissing her neck, enjoying the quiet groans she was making at his lips and his touch.

"Me too," she gasped out as he unbuttoned her BDU's , sliding his fingers carefully inside, touching her gently in her panties. Adrienne hissed in again, feeling him slip his long fingers in between her lips, toying with her own hardness lightly.

"Like this," he checked, making sure that it was alright, that he was pleasing her.

"Yes."

Encouraged by her response, he slid down further, slipping his fingers inside, wandering and searching for the place that would give him the reaction that he needed and wanted, both to please her and to make her ready.

"Ah..." she blurted out, making him pause but not pull away, worried.

"Am I hurting you?" he asked, not knowing how long it had been for her and not wanting to do anything to make this all worse.

"No, I," she stammered, moving her body away from his but returning her hands to his pants, to his hips, yanking the fabric downward, "I want you inside of me."

"Really?" he honestly was shocked as she pulled, and grabbed, no longer acting like this was something that they had to do, more like acting as if this was something she wanted to do...

"Yes, now."

He did too, no question, he hadn't wanted someone this badly for so very long. Reaching for her face again he started to kiss her with more passion, drawing her pants to her ankles with his left hand, very gently, still rubbing her slowly with his right, his fingers lingering in such a way as to make her convulse against his hand. She was still squeezing him, timidly but enough, and he could feel his heartbeat in his groin. He couldn't wait any longer. Removing his hand, he stopped rubbing only to pull her away, to slip his own pants down, exposing his thick erection. She was smiling, looking, taking it all in as he removed his shirt and then hers, her black sports bra last to go.

And they were naked, in this small, dark, warm room, surrounded by mirrors that neither cared about.

It was time, both his mind and his body telling him so, so he laid back, pulling her to him.

"Come here," he ordered gently, Adrienne resisting his touch.

"What, you're," she stuttered, changing her mind, but they were too close now; even if they didn't want to be intimate together all they had to do was rush the act and they would be allowed to leave.

"It's ok Ad, I said you could guide this. On top, you can be in control," but she was shaking her head in disagreement, those knees back at her chest, blocking his view of her beautiful breasts.

"But I, I want you to," there was the stammer, some tears, Daniel crawling onto his knees to take her into his arms.

"Ok, I'm sorry, just tell me, what position do you want," he cringed at his own words, hating himself again, hating this, hating to have to do this to her. She was crying again, so he kissed her lightly, holding her until she stopped, sniffling in an answer.

"I don't want to have sex, I want you to make love to me," she admitted, pulling back and gazing into his eyes.

"I can do that," he assured her, laying her down gently, reaching between her legs again, rubbing softly to prepare her, making her moan in delight. Telling her with his eyes that it was going to be alright, he ran his his digits from front to back, massaging, toying, trying to get them both back to where they were before the tears.

"Don't stop that," she whispered, her hips matching his motion again.

"I thought you wanted me in you," he teased, feeling more like himself, like themselves, playful and relaxed.

"Ok, on second thought stop that," she giggled, "obey my first request."

Smiling, he nodding, planning to do as he was told, spreading her thighs, and crawling between her legs, positioning himself at her damp entrance.

"Ready?" he checked once more, wanting to know with her words as well as the look in her eyes that this was alright.

"Yea," she whispered, pausing, pushing against his bare chest, "no, wait."

"What's wrong Ad?" he questioned, fearful again, as she bit her lip, her bottom one trembling.

" love you Daniel," she said so softly that he was afraid that he heard her wrong were it not for the look in her eyes confirming her words.

"I love you too," he answered, not merely words but the truth, kissing her again with the passion of love, pulling her pelvis to his, and sliding slowly inside of her warmth. She hissed again, Daniel bringing their tongues together to kiss her passionately, pushing himself the rest of the way into her body.

"Are you ok?"

"Mmm Hmm..."

Kissing her again, he pulled back slightly to thrust in stronger, starting a slow rhythm, one that she matched with her hips. She purred at his neck, clasping his hips, angling her body to take him in deeper. Observers be damned, his body wasn't obeying his brain's desire to make this quick, make this tame, pushing himself onto his palms, gazing down at her, her dark cajun eyes, her open mouth inviting his back at he continued his drive. It had been a while, as long as she had said it had been when she confessed everything to him late one night; she was tight, warm, but so wet, moaning now at his motion.

"Daniel, dear god, harder," she begged, surprising him; she seemed to no longer care herself where this was happening, just that it was happening. Smiling he complied, leaning forward more to hold her body in place as he slammed into with a fury, her moans and scream louder with each thrust. It was amazing, and despite his own desire to just move faster, finish, and leave, he had promised her to make this pleasurable for her as well. He slowed, watched her face change to panicked, kissing her before he allowed her to speak.

Lips locked, Daniel wrapped his arms around Adriene, the woman he truly loved more than anything, rolling them to their sides, bringing her leg higher to his hip. She had not wanted to be on top, she seemed to want the security of his closeness, so he pulled back slightly, slipping his hand between them, searching for her again. Hissing, she was hissing in, and he knew he was close, crawling his fingers between her lips, rubbing as he did before.

"Ahhh..." she gasped out, grinding against him a bit harder, groaning, mumbling his name. He felt her clench around him tightly, not teasing but holding him from the inside. She was close, disappointingly so, he didn't want to stop, when he remembered again where they were and what was being asked of them.

"Ad, I feel you, I know you're close, I need you to get me there too so we can get out of here," Daniel tried to reason with her as she writhed underneath of him, not allowing his hand to escape.

"Like this," she offered when he felt a clench again, a different clench, and a release and then another.

"Yea," he stammered, "like that." That was making him throb, swell harder, lose his place with his fingers, but it seemed that she had trapped them where she wanted them, rubbing herself against them. She started to buck slightly, her hands wandering to his backside, squeezing opposite of her internal clenching. He felt kisses, at his neck, higher until there was a tongue at his earlobe and panting.

"You're amazing," she whispered as she sucked, still clench, still grinding, still bucking, sending his stomach into a frenzy. He wanted to reply, tell her that this was spectacular, but he couldn't speak, just groan out deep and low, his trembling hands pulling her pelvis impossibly closer. One more clech, a tongue high on his neck and he was at his edge, he was gonna blow and he needed to warn her.

"Ad, I'm.." he tried to explain but still at a loss for words, trapped in ecstasy, but she understood enough, pulling from his neck to shout out into the room.

"Now!"

As if she was commanding him rather than explaining that the ritual was at its close he erupted inside of her, hoping she had taken precautions, hoping that she knew he loved her more than anything, hoping she would forgive him for all of this. They were still alone but he could almost sense the flurry of activity around them as he drove into her, hearing her scream, driving harder, exploding, yelling himself.

And then it was over, the astounding sensation gone, his dearest friend hiding her nudity in his chest. He rolled only enough to hold her, cover her, envelop her with his arms, shouting around the room.

"You got what you wanted. That is how the Taur'i reproduce. Let us go!" he screamed, not letting go for a moment as she pulled closer. Lights shot on all around them, blinding him temporarily, and when he opened his eyes there was Cam, with a blanket, reaching for Adrienne, but Daniel wouldn't let go.

"Make them leave, give her privacy," he ordered, not caring that Cam was his team leader, not caring about himself, only about the shaking mass of soft skin in his arms.

"No problem," was the answer, Cam disappearing through a side door. Daniel breathed in as the light softerned a second time, squeezing Adrienne tightly.

"They're gone Ad, it's safe," he started, choking up slightly, "I'm so sorry." She was weeping, making him hold her tighter with one arm, reaching for her clothes at the other.

"Adrienne, please, let's get out of here, I'm so sorry," he apologized, pulling the shirt over her head, disregarding her sports bra. She looked up, letting him dress her gently, sucking in tears.

"Did you mean it?"

"What?" he asked as he paused, letting her adjust the shirt down her side.

"That you love me?"

After everything that had happened to them in the past day, the long tiring negotiations, the surprise element, the attack on their team, and now this, that was her concern.

Did he love her?!

"Adrienne I've loved you from the moment I let myself get to know you. That's why I said it had to be me, I would never let anyone hurt you."

And despite absurdity of it all he couldn't help but laugh as she tackled him down to the floor, kissing him playfully.

Strange how things work out...


	2. Chapter 2 - Erotic Alternate to Changes

_This is the erotic alternate to "Changes." _

_For reasons you will discover, as fun as this is, it could not have happened like this. _

_But what if it did?_

_Enjoy :P_

"Is that chocolate?" Daniel asked, peering over Adrienne's shoulder as he arrived back from yet another morning of pointless meetings and other malarkey. She was sitting at her desk, facing her computer and working away, although with a candy bar in one hand and a piece of chocolate positioned at her mouth in another.

Messing with Adrienne, he thought, what a great way to start a work day.

"Go to hell," she answered back harshly, her eyes staying locked at the screen, not acknowledging Daniel with anything other than her words.

"Ouch," he replied, not exactly the response he had expected. Puzzled, he walked back over to his desk, wondering what was going on.

"What's with you this morning?" he asked as he sat down, not taking his eyes off of her for a moment. He didn't like the look on her face right now, what he could see of it anyway. It was clear that she wasn't herself, not only due to her food choice but the lack of bad hip hop music echoing through the lab. He'd let her bring a speaker in lately to loudly blast the greatest hits of the 1990's, but now the lab was silent.

"I didn't sleep well last night and chocolate makes it better," she replied curtly, again, not looking up from her computer.

"I'm just pointing this out, as a friend, that somehow I'll get blamed for letting you eat that, so, in order to insure that I play my part in your diet madness: Adrienne don't eat that," he joked, hoping she caught his smile and opened the lid to his laptop, cueing up his stopping point from late last night. Damn, he needed a cup of coffee, and soon, but he needed to figure out what was wrong with his sidekick first.

"It's dark and organic. That'll make me a little less angry at myself later," she answered, popping the waiting piece into her mouth and pushing back from the computer, reaching into her backpack. Seeing that this conversation was getting him nowhere, Daniel decided to change the subject.

"Aren't you gonna ask me how my meeting went?" he tried, since usually that was the first thing she asked after wasted mornings such as these. There was a glance, and finally eye contact was made, Adrienne setting the dark red wrapped sweet aside and looking over at him.

"How was your meeting?" she responded, her voice lacking feeling, her eyes cold. Frowning, Daniel glared right back, trying to read her face, for something, anything, but all he got in return was her chilly glance, a furrowed brow and pursed lips. Since they had gotten back from San Francisco a few weeks ago they were, well, friends. He actually thought of her as someone he wanted to be with outside of work and although they had been too busy to do anything other than crash on base, he still considered her a friend and right now this friend wasn't acting like herself. He had to figure out what was going on, after all, what's Batman without Robin.

Beginning to become truly concerned, even her body language giving away that something was desperately wrong, he resolved to try to see what was with her, work or not.

He had seen her sleepy before and this wasn't sleepy.

"Boring, as usual," he began, thinking he would begin by distracting her with work, "Woolsey talking about there being no money, Sam defending everything we do, some four star general asking about weapons..." he trailed, waiting for her token smart remark, but Adrienne didn't answer. Frustrated and getting nowhere, Daniel stood from his desk and walked over to hers, pulling up a chair in front of her and sitting down, leaning forward to look her in the eye.

"Adrienne?" he asked, trying to get her to look at him, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing Daniel, I told you, I didn't sleep well," she answered, still refusing to make eye contact. He couldn't help but notice that she'd called him Daniel, not Indy, which as of late seemed to be his new moniker with her, but this Adrienne sitting here, not joking, no spirit, she just wasn't herself.

"Did I do something?" he offered, racking his brain, trying to figure out if when they were working late last night had he said anything in his sheer exhaustion to offend her. That got her to smile, the corners of her lip gloss covered mouth trickling up the side of her face as she peeked up at him.

"I must have been a real bitch to you, you look so pitiful now Indy, but really I'm ok," she answered, much to his relief, switching back over to Indy.

"Ok," he backed off a bit and started to stand, determining that it might be best to leave her alone for now and let her open up when she was ready. Turning to head back to his desk, he felt a grip at his wrist, turning to see that Adrienne had grabbed his arm, pulling him gently to her. He sat back down, careful not to pull away.

"It's my cousin, Rae, she's getting married," Adrienne told him quietly, releasing his arm and taking in a deep breath.

"Well, that's great news. Congratulations!" Daniel replied happily.

"Yeah, no, it's great news. My aunt called last night and told me before bed," Adrienne continued, yet maintained her dismal composure.

"Ok, so you were thinking about the wedding? Are you worried about getting time off? It's your cousin's wedding; I'll make sure you have the time off you need," he assured her. Just because few other members of the staff had much of a life outside of the Pentagon, didn't mean that Adrienne should be forced to miss out on special events, family events no less.

"No, no, I'm sure Sam would be ok and you have no choice but to be ok with it," she finally smiled, gazing back up at him as she did.

"Uh..." Daniel tried to think like a woman, something that was not his forte, if she was going to be allowed to go, what was wrong?

Finally he came up with something, something he probably should have thought through before he opened his mouth.

"Did you need a date?" he asked.

"Oh lord, I don't even know when this is happening," she replied, giggling lightly and shaking her head.

"Oh, ok," he answered. Back to square one, he thought.

She smiled at him, "Ya offerin' Indy?" she asked.

"I mean, if you need of course, just let me know when," he replied, hesitantly. That would be something new, going from hating one another to being her date for a wedding. Smiling, she reached over and squeezed his leg.

"Thanks, really," she said, yet, other than the slight smile, her face didn't change, she still seemed distant and upset; there appeared to be much more to her mood than she was letting on.

"Look, Addy, I'm really bad at things like this, can you help me out here?" he pleaded gently, Adrienne finally looking up at him once more, her brown eyes filled with a sadness that crushed him in a way he hadn't felt before.

His instincts were correct; something was very wrong with her today.

"It's stupid, trust me; really really stupid. I just need to deal with it that's all," she answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Alright," he finally relented, if she wasn't going to open up he couldn't force her, "but I if you need to talk, I'm right here. Literally."

"Thanks," Adrienne replied softly, returning her glance to her computer. Resigning himself to the fact it was going to be a quiet day in the lab, Daniel stood, pushing the extra chair back under the center table, returning to his desk and the task he had set out before himself.

Adrienne didn't say much the rest of the day. She worked on her database information and only spoke to ask him to clarify a few things here or there, things he knew full well that she could read herself, but he answered her anyway. At lunch, she opted to stay in the lab, standing without a word and making her way over to lockers, digging a Powerbar out of his bag. That was odd too, not only was she actually eating a Powerbar voluntarily, but she didn't even ask, just stood and starting rooting through his things. Not that he minded, in fact he didn't mind her rooting around the lab at all anymore, but she had this omnipresent Southern politeness that caused her to ask permission before doing anything let alone go exploring through his personal effects.

Nibbling the Powerbar and drinking cold coffee, Adrienne's dark eyes kept focused on the screen, clicking and typing away until eventually, she stood and went to her own locker, pulling out her gym bag and running shoes.

"I'm done so I'm gonna hit the gym, is that cool?" she asked plainly, flatly, like she had spoken to him months ago, as her boss and not her friend.

"Sure, enjoy," he responded, hoping his tone let her know that he was concerned and cared for her well-being.

He had given up on trying to get her to talk.

Looking up at the clock, he suddenly realized it was four already and dinner would be sneaking up very soon and he needed to get out of this room and this chair.

"Hey!" he shouted out and stood, walking over to her and catching her at the door. Puzzled, Adrienne stopped and looked back, a glare on her face.

"What?" she snapped, cutting her eyes at him.

"Let's go do something, cheer you up a bit," he suggested, "after all, you said we should do something fun outside of work and we've yet to."

"I don't need cheering up," Adrienne spat, so fiercely that Daniel almost took a step back when her face softened and a faint hint of a smile began to spread across it, "but we can do something. What did you have in mind?"

"I hadn't gotten that far yet; my stomach was just informing me that I needed to begin considering my options," he admitted.

"Well, I was going to run five miles and I would need to shower and put on normal people clothes, so can you wait till six?" she answered as she glanced over at the clock.

He was starving already, but he could wait, he wanted to wait...

"Yeah, meet you in the parking lot at six?" Daniel looked at his watch, checking to see how long he had to figure out what he could do to cheer up his dreary assistant.

"Sure, you driving?" she asked.

"I was thinking I could follow you to your house first, but yeah. I'm not a fan of stuffing myself into a VW," he replied, once again, saying something stupid to Adrienne. Don't be offended, he thought, just take it as a joke...

"And yet you stuff yourself into a tiny cave to read a wall," she remarked, grinning. Daniel almost breathed a sigh of relief right then and there, taking her reply as a sign that this wasn't a complete and total mistake.

"Totally different," he defended, smiling back at her.

"Daniel Jackson, king of the double standard," she laughed. Finally, he thought, laughter, maybe she's just had a bad day.

Watching her as she spun herself on her heels to leave, he started to run ideas through his head, dashing over to his desk as soon as she was out of sight.

"Great," he said out loud to himself, "Now I need to find something to do..."

Standing at his computer, he racked his brain. This was just hanging out; why was this so complicated? When he would hang out with any of the rest of the group, they just went over to each other's homes, well, except for Vala. He tried to keep her in a public location at all times, for his own sanity. Adrienne was so hard to figure out though because if he picked the wrong thing she would jump to some crazy conclusion about him and he really didn't want to go back to the insanity of her first few months here. Staring blankly at the screen, trying to think of a restaurant that she, or Vala for that matter since she was Adrienne's only female companion it seemed, wouldn't think anything, he paused, a light bulb going off in his head. What a stupid thing to worry about; this was Adrienne.

He knew exactly where to they should go.

"I'm STARVING," she whined loudly from across the parking lot as he walked over to his car tossing his bag into the Jeep.

"So what else is new?" he asked, receiving laughter in return. She seemed much better, probably a consequence of the run, so he decided to go with it, waiting for her to get into her car before he followed her back to her apartment. Rather than do just that, she reached for her keys and opened the hood of the beetle, tossing in her things and walking away from the car.

"You get me, no hairstyle and light make-up, sorry," she said as she approached, shoving her hands into the pocket of her tight jeans.

"You style your hair?" he joked, watching her tousle her brown locks around, the ends lightly cascading on her purple long sleeved t-shirt. But you still look amazing, he thought, refraining from comment and scolding himself internally for the remark.

"Fuck you Daniel," she spat.

"I was kidding," he started to defend, scolding himself also for crossing the line with her, again, but she was laughing already.

"You're so gun shy it's fun to mess with you," she smiled, reaching for the door to the jeep to let herself in.

"I thought I was gonna follow you to your house," he stated, confused, watching her step back to get in the door.

"Nah, I'm too hungry," she said, hopping in. Going with the flow, Daniel opened his own door, getting in on his side and starting the engine.

"Besides," she continued, clasping the seatbelt at her waist, "if we want to have sex or something, I'd rather go to your place, my sheets are a little slippery being satin and all..."

He looked over at her shocked for just a moment, his heart racing, a quick throb in his pants at the thought, until he finally caught on, letting out a loud and literal sigh of relief.

"See, joking, I'm being funny, I'm mocking Vala; do we UN-DER-STAND?!" she said, intentionally stuttering the last word.

"Ok, yeah, I'll lighten up, Sorry. I guess I'm a bit on the defensive," he replied, his stomach slightly riddled with disappointment.

Dammit Daniel, what is wrong with you?

"Good, because I feel gross talking like that. She's my friend, and I love her, but that woman has got to have space herpes or something," Adrienne answered, Daniel erupting into laughter as he turned onto the street, trying to dispel more than a few mental images from his mind.

The drive itself wasn't very long and a few blocks later they pulled into a small mexican restaurant, much to Adrienne's sheer delight.

"Nice choice my friend!" she declared, her eyes bright and excited. Mexican, he thought, works every time.

"I thought you would approve," Daniel said, silently pleased with himself and dismissing his earlier concern. It wasn't that crowded, thankfully, and they got a booth, at Adrienne's request. Much to his surprise she had ordered a margarita before they even sat down. He started to pick, but she beat him to it, smirking as she pointing to the bench across from her, indicating that he sit and shut up.

"I have a special relationship with Tequila that supersedes the runner's diet," she explained, reaching up to collect the margarita that had been brought to her faster than it should have feasibly taken to receive an alcoholic beverage.

"A relationship with tequila?" he asked, turning to the waiter to request a soda.

"Yes, tequila cures all ills. In college we did these crazy things called Upside Down Margaritas, right after finals. Made up for categorizing slide after slide of artifacts for hours," she explained as she sipped.

"What is the world is an upside down margarita?" he inquired, giving her that look he gave when he learned about something else crazy in her life, which now that they were on friendlily terms was getting to be quite often.

"You take two shot glasses, fill one with margarita mix, or lime juice or something and fill the other with tequila. You lick salt off of your hand, toss your head back and someone pours the shots into your mouth. Bring head up, shake and swallow," she explained, hand gestures and all, and then blushed, as if she realized how awful that sounded as it came out,

"And there goes your opinion of me, down the toilet," she added, focusing once more on her drink rather than his eyes, fear coursing through her body.

Why did I just tell him that, she thought, he's gonna think I'm...

"No, I'm actually just trying to get a mental image of Miss Perfect as a party girl," he smiled, accepting his soda from the waiter as he approached with Daniel's drink as well as chips and salsa, politely thanking the man in Spanish and encouraging his assistant to continue.

"I wasn't a party girl, AT ALL," she clarified, relieved; he seemed to be playing, " I just knew how to have a good time when I needed to. You never partied?"

"No, I started college at 16. Too young," he answered quickly, taking a sip.

"So did I," she argued, "but I still managed to have fun too."

"You're a pretty girl. I was a little geek with glasses," he answered, once again putting his foot into his mouth.

Pretty?

Nice move Daniel, nice move.

"Awww... Indy thinks I'm pretty..." she teased, those butterflies dancing through her gut again.

Did he really just say that, she thought, and is he embarrassed right now?

"Don't let it go to your head," he replied quickly as the waiter approached once more, and they ordered, in Spanish of course, Adrienne waiting until the server left to continue.

"So, no parties for Dr. Jackson?" she asked, coyly, sipping more of her drink.

"Nope," he answered quickly, shaking his head slowly.

"We need to fix this," she stated, her bright smile catching his eye for yet another moment as she pointed her straw at him. He laughed, and popped a few chips into his mouth, letting her tease.

"I have as an adult; I just missed out on the whole fraternity experience," he amended.

"Oh, I bet those SGC parties are real killer," she lifted her eyebrows, making him laugh again, almost choking on his chips, causing Adrienne to do the same with her margarita.

"Ok, fine, you throw a party. I'll come and you can make me human or whatever you are thinking right now that I'm not," he relented. Shaking her head, she just laughed again and kept drinking her drink.

Their food came, Adrienne of course having ordered something strange, but Daniel refrained from commenting. She started to assemble her assortment of grilled meats, fruits and vegetables into a strange brown tortilla when her face dropped again, that familiar expression from this morning washing over her and looked up at him, sorrow once more invading her penetrating eyes.

"My aunt Barbara thinks I'm a failure," she said plainly, no joke, no games, and by the expression on her face she meant every word. Daniel was completely lost for just a moment until he remembered what she had said this morning, about her cousin and the wedding. She must be ready to talk, so he sat back in the booth, pushing the chips and his plate away, preparing to listen.

"Why?" he responded.

"Because, in Louisiana, a woman that's not married and the mother of at least 5 kids by the age of 22 has wasted her life," and with that Adrienne finished her margarita and raising her hand for the waiter, who rushed right over to their table.

"Otra," she ordered.

Daniel made a face.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," he said.

"Of course I am, but the point remains that my entire family thinks a 31 year old woman with no house, no man and no kids didn't live up to the family name," she explained and again, as before, the waiter brought another 'faster than light' margarita, Daniel snatching it away from Adrienne as she reached for it.

"Do you believe that?" he asked. Scowling, but not shouting, thankfully, Adrienne reached for the glass, trying to gently remove his fingers from the stem, one digit at a time, but Daniel gripped it tighter, pulling the drink closer to him, blobs of green frozen liquid splashing over the sides.

"Do you believe that?" he asked again, stressing the word you, his knuckles white as he grasped the glass. Adrienne slumped back onto the bench of the booth, giving up the fight, a scowl across her pale face. Darting left and right, her eyes tried the best they could to focus on every other possible object in the room other than Daniel, other than the one person who was asking this of her until they too gave up, gazing forward at her companion.

"Maybe a little," she finally answered. Somewhat satisfied, he shoved the drink toward her, leaning forward onto the table to push her a tiny bit more.

"Why?" Daniel continued.

"Because, I mean, I have a PhD, fantastic, but what did I do? Did I make some crazy discovery? Did I change my field? No, I worked at a community college. I have nothing to show for my years in school, years I could have been making babies. Nothing," she took a sip, stirring the drink for a moment, and then taking a second long slow drag at the straw.

"And I do?" he retorted.

"You wrote a book," she answered.

"That you made fun of, if you recall," he said.

"I was wrong, you were right," she replied.

"And who knows that of all my critics...hmm... the one across from me offering herself to Dionysus," he raised his eyebrows. Not ready to admit he was right but knowing that he was, she drank more margarita, trying not to laugh.

"Ok, ok, point taken. See, I told you this morning it was stupid. I'm almost over it already," she replied.

"Exactly how many more margaritas until almost becomes am," he inquired, pointing at the nearly empty second glass. Scanning the fluid, or lack thereof in her container, she glanced up and winked, taking one more sip before answering.

"Three," she replied, making Daniel laugh at her again.

"Kidding, right?" he clarified, still working on this Adrienne humor he had yet to fully understand, "because otherwise I think it'd be a lot more economical if we go to the ABC store and just buy you a handle of tequila."

"Yes, I'm kidding, you're learning. But, if you're offering, I'm all for a trip to the ABC store and that is not a joke," she answered. Daniel gave her a look pondering her suggestion as he ate a few bites of his rapidly cooling meal. That would be new. Other than a few beers at Sam and Jack's, he had never really done anything quite like what Adrienne was suggesting, in fact, rather than worry, he sat there thinking that it might be fun, that college experience Adrienne was teasing him earlier about missing.

"If you're debating Indy, for the record, I won't be jumping you," Adrienne stated simply. Daniel spit out some rice onto his plate, cracking his assistant up from her seat across from him.

"I wasn't thinking that!" he defended, frantically grabbing his soda to wash down the granules now trapped in his throat.

I was.

Dammit.

Smiling, she stuck out her tongue, arranging another fruit/meat/veggie tortilla mix.

"I know. I'm just playing. Let's go to the ABC store, get some supplies and go to my apartment. I have a GREAT idea," she suggested.

"I'm not much of a drinker..." he admitted, his mind changing as he started to wonder what in the world this 'great idea' was exactly.

"I'm not that much of one either, but it'll be fun and I promise not to make you puke..." she teased. Come on Daniel live a little, his brain was telling him, this is nothing.

Adrienne's harmless.

And you trust her.

She'd keep her word.

"Alright," he replied and waved for the check. With the same eagerness as before, the waiter was at their side, check cheerily ripped from the pad. Before she could protest Daniel had his credit card waiting, insisting on paying for Adrienne's meal. Well that's nice, she thought, touched and feeling slightly guilty for having as many overpriced drinks are she did. She was embarrassed, slipping away to the restroom while he signed the ticket, meeting him at the door.

This was too confusing; why was he being so sweet, about everything?

She needed another margarita.

When they arrived at the ABC store, Adrienne made Daniel sit in the car while she ran inside, that mischievous grin plastered from ear to ear.

"I don't get to pick?" he asked, offended and slightly worried. What exactly did she have in mind?

"No, I'm gonna surprise you," she said with a smile, "Trust me."

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to blow up in my face," he answered but Adrienne just laughed, dashing inside. Still baffled by this, the fact he was out to dinner, alone with his assistant, the fact that they were going to drink together, alone in her apartment, the fact that they were spending so much time together, alone, he wasn't sure what to make of all of this. He really liked her, as much as it was hard to admit after everything that happened; she wasn't just some crazy loud mouthed punk wanna be. He enjoyed talking with her, bouncing ideas off of her, just being with her in general.

When she returned, medium sized brown bag in hand, she shoved it into the floor at her feet, revealing nothing, and pointing in the direction of the parking lot exit.

"What did you get?" Daniel asked.

"Just wait," she answered, winking, smiling.

"I'm slowly working my way back to not trusting you," he joked back as he turned the keys, starting the ignition.

"Whatever," she replied, her thin pale fingers reaching for the knob to the radio. Not saying a word, Daniel waited for her selection, biting his lips as she passed by hard rock, classical, latino, rap, settling on a pop station, a few familiar beats coming through the speakers.

"PLEASE tell me that you know this one!" she yelled over the blaring music, laughing, pulling her legs up to cross them in his seat. A few more beats played and Daniel knew he had heard the song but had no idea what it was or any of the words when the rap started.

He knew this song...

_Alright stop, collaborate and listen..._

Adrienne appeared to know it as well, rapping along happily to the terrible music, laughing and smiling in his front seat. He should have been annoyed, but he just wasn't. She was laughing, rapping, being silly, hilarious, reaching across the console every so often to try to get him to dance in his seat.

"You're not mentally stable," he shouted over the radio as she sang the chorus, throwing her hands in front of herself just like a bad rapper.

"And it took you how long to figure this out," she smiled in return, winking, holding up her finger so he wouldn't interrupt the next verse, rapping happily again.

"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or frightened, but after the road trip, I really shouldn't be surprised," he replied, his arm shoved roughly as she continued to sing.

They drove to her apartment on her insistence, something about her being certain that Daniel lacked the supplies needed for the evening, which caused more worry to seep into his gut. What supplies exactly was she talking about?

Directing him to park in the guest parking to the side, Adrienne unbuckled quickly, rushing to her front door and inside. Daniel, on the other hand, walked slowly to the door and into her open apartment, for only the third time since he had known her. The first time was pretty awkward, the whole True Blood debacle and the second time after her car wreck wasn't as awkward, but there was still some tension between them. This time, he actually felt welcome and not guarded, yet still a little worried as to what she had up her sleeve.

Closing the door behind him, he walked over to the kitchen to see what she was up to as she produced two ornate brown bottles from the bag setting them carefully onto her small dining room table. He squinted to read the label, not familiar with drink, his experience with liquors not including expensive looking bottles with gold decoration.

"Godiva?" he asked, reaching for one of the bottles.

"Yea, it's chocolate liquor. Not as strong; you said you weren't a drinker," she answered, smiling, waiting, hoping to earn his approval, which meant so much to her. It was silly, she knew, she had only cared before about his thinking she was a competent professional but now she wanted him to have fun like they had on the way from San Francisco.

"Is it good?" he asked.

"Nah Indy, I buy shitty liquor. For as much as it costs it betta be good," she replied as she went down the hall to her bedroom, yelling back to him.

"We need about six shot glasses; they're in the wine cabinet!"

Of course she has a wine cabinet, would he expect less?

Looking for a small rack at first, Daniel searched around her kitchen, cheap wooden apartment cabinets decorated with more glued on grape wine, to find the cabinet.

"What in the world is she talking about?" he asked out loud when he saw it. It was in the small space between the kitchen and the dining area, and easily the largest piece of furniture in the house, a tall wooden structure built specifically for the beverage of Dionysus. The top housed a place for glasses, hung neatly by their bases and the bottom had rack upon rack of bottles, at least thirty by his count. So much for not being much of a drinker. He stood there for a moment, trying to figure out where in the world the shot glasses would be when he saw a pair of double doors underneath the glasses, some hidden compartment in the back of the cabinet. He opened the doors, not sure what to expect there to be behind them, when he paused, peering over his shoulder and back down the hall.

'Wait, six?" he clarified, her words sinking in.

"Yeah, or eight. And we need that ice bucket on top, filled," she yelled.

His gaze floating to the top of the cabinet, the bucket there as requested, he chuckled, reaching for the container, wondering what madness she was up to.

Correction, he thought, what madness is she about to get me into?

"Dere ya ah!" her voice floated down the hall second before she came dashing in but headed to the living room ignoring him and proceeding to the DVD player.

"We're going to watch a movie? How original..." he teased.

"No, smart ass, we're gonna play a drinkin' game," she hissed, waving the iPad in her hand. She tapped a few things and set it on the coffee table, directing him to bring the shot glasses and ice bucket over, while she ran back into the kitchen and grabbed the bottles of liquor, shoving them into the collection of frozen cubes.

"Ok, have you ever played a drinking game?" she asked, quelling her accent so he would understand. In fact, her tone was almost professor like, and he was about to call her on just that when he caught her staring him right in the eyes. It was eerie, she was reading him, and he made a face at her, a face she quickly misinterpreted.

"Thought so," she said, pointing beside where she was sitting on the floor, requesting he join her, "It's pretty simple, read over this," she handed him the iPad, redirecting her attention to the assortment of shot glasses in front of them, arranging them in a careful spread.

"Is this that movie you got Teal'c hooked on?" he groaned as he took a seat beside her, the title of the web article reading "Drinking Games for Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

"Yep," she smiled.

"I saw this once, it's awful..." he whined a bit.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say that lest our friendship cease immediately and clarify that you understand the rules," she continued.

"Basically, when this happens," he pointed at the screen, "I drink that," he pointed to another column.

"Exactly!" she pushed three shot glasses towards him as she watched his bright blue eyes scan the rest of the screen.

"Three shots for intermission!?" he exclaimed as he got to the bottom of the list.

"Yea shug, ya game?" she challenged.

"Please don't let me die," he said jokingly and with that Adrienne laughed and hit play, reaching for the cooling liquor to pour the shots.

"Coconuts, DRINK!" she shouted about an hour later.

"I don't see the coco - whatever," he argued, poorly, drunkenly, tossing another shot down his throat, missing slightly, the brown liquid trickling from the side of his mouth, Daniel reaching quickly to catch the spill.

"But you can hear them," she insisted, giggling, tossing another down her throat as well.

"Now you're just fucking with me," Daniel replied, Adrienne about to roll in the floor at him swearing. He had been doing that more than usual since this little game of theirs started and it was killing her, in fact, if she wasn't so buzzy herself she would be filming him trying not to swear at her and struggling to keep up.

"Ah ahm nah, Ah swear fo gah, donna ya 'ear dem!?" Adrienne shouted, demanded, pointing to the TV.

"NO!" Daniel replied, but he drank anyway, another shot; he had forgotten the first apparently. The moment he swallowed, Adrienne fell over onto the floor, laughing hysterically.

"What now?" he asked, holding onto the table to keep himself upright.

"Dere were nah any coconuts..." she said, wiping tears from her eyes, "ahn ya drank twice..."

"You LIED to me!?" he tried to act angry, but he was too tipsy to be serious.

"Sho deed, ya drunk doctah?" she asked. Adrienne was pretty toasted herself, her words slurring and barely comprehensible, hilarious, Daniel tossing the shot glass to the table laughing some more. She was right; this was fun, she was fun.

"Very," he told the truth.

"Ah am too..." she tried to stand.

"Where are you going?" he asked, giving up on sitting upright, letting himself fall into the floor.

"Imma comin' ova ta see if ya be lyin' ta me," Adrienne stated, giving up on standing herself, opting to crawl on the floor over towards him. She brought her face to his.

"How many fingers am I 'oldin' up?" she asked.

"Twelve?" he tried to be funny, thinking he had failed, but it was enough, Adrienne falling over into his lap into hysterics. Calming herself, she rolled over a bit, resting her head there and looking up at him.

"So," he asked, "if my knowledge of Cameron's shitty movies is correct, aren't you supposed to be dancing on a table?"

Adrienne laughed a little more, but remained in his lap.

"I would if I was soba enough ta insho I could actually get on da table in one piece," she laughed, rolling over to her side, sliding her hands under her head, "I'd radda stay 'ere. Ya comfortable."

"Ad, get up please," Daniel asked, his tone changing, starting to push her away.

"Why, Imma jus layin' 'ere?" she replied innocently, scooting closer, confused as to what his problem with her lying right here was.

And then she felt why, and unmistakable stiffness under her head, one that did not belong to her. Biting her lip coyly, she rolled her head back to peer up at him.

"Oh, dat's why," she said.

"Yes, that's why, please get up," he was insisting, his palms on her shoulders again and Adrienne sat up a bit, making a face.

"Damn shug, so ya got a little excited, what da 'ell be da big deal? 'fraid Vala might get jealous?" she teased, not seeing the problem; they both had had a lot to drink.

"No, it's, I'm drunk and it's embarrassing and I, Ad, please," he stammered, wriggling away from her, Adrienne smiling at his flushed face, crawling over to him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Daniel asked her, trying to adjust himself as he sat back against the sofa.

"Because, you're being stupid," she replied, forcing herself to speak clearly so that he understood, "Sometimes things like that happen when you drink too much. There's nothing to be embarrassed about unless..."

A light bulb went off in Adrienne's head.

"Unless, it's not da alcohol," she finished, shocked by her own words.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his words clearer and more sober as he tried to talk his way out of this.

"Then let me lay in your lap."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll get worse, ok, are you happy?!" he snapped at her.

Worse?

She was quite amazed. If what she felt was only partial the thought of worse was about to drive her wild. Yes, they were friends and he was her boss, but he was so incredibly hot and she had had a few fantasies herself about things she would like to do to him if she ever got the chance.

Now was her chance.

Scooting closer to him and his lap, she reached for the button of his jeans, Daniel quickly brushing her hand away.

"Ad, what are you doing?" he tried to back up more but the sofa stopped him, as Adrienne pulled her hands away.

"Sorry, I was curious, I..."

"Adrienne, I think I should go I just.."

"Daniel, I'm sorry, I am, I just...I just wanted to know if I had caused that, that's all," she sputtered, not really explaining why her hands were gravitating toward his fly but it was the best she could come up with on the spot.

"And if you had?" he asked.

"Then I'd feel obligated to, uh, fix it," she answered shyly, clearly still inebriated but bold. Daniel breathed out, feeling himself get harder as the words crossed her lips.

Was she serious?

"Fix it how?" he ventured, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Did I cause it?" she questioned again, Daniel's face five shades of red. He could feel his full length pushing against his pants and he was so hard he was afraid that he would explode then and there. It had been so long, too long, and he wanted to tell her the truth.

"Yea, you caused it," he whispered, his voice trembling. Pursing her lips, Adrienne crawled back towards him.

"Then let me fix it, please," she reached again for his pants, his heart pounding in his chest. This time he didn't fight her as she undid the top button of his jeans, pulling down the zipper sensually. Daniel was trembling with both anticipation and terror of falling apart too soon as Adrienne reached the bottom of the zipper, peeking up at him.

"Out or off?" she asked, pausing her advance.

"What?" he was confused, especially sitting here in her living room his pants undone.

"Do you want me to pull it out or take your pants off?" she clarified. Dear god, he thought, I can't believe she is asking me this.

I can't believe this is happening.

"Out," he breathed, his heart racing.

"Kinky," but she did as he requested, slipping her hand into his jeans and through the opening in his boxers reaching until she felt him, thick and hard in her grasp, pulling him gently out of his pants.

"You're big," Adrienne complimented.

Daniel didn't know what to say, he'd been told that before, but coming from his attractive feisty assistant it was just that much more arousing, especially as she ran her hand up and down him lightly.

"I might have to be selfish," she stated, confusing him when he got his answer, what her definition of selfish or self-less was for that matter, as she started to run the tip of her tongue down his shaft. He let out a deep breath, as she slipped her mouth around the head, making him shiver. She must have felt it, because she stopped her light sucking, peering back up at him.

"Are you ok? Do you want me to stop?" she asked, darting her tongue onto him lightly.

"Just nerves, but don't stop. It feels good," he replied and she giggled a bit.

"Good, and I just got started," and she returned to her task. Once again, as she started, she lightly ran her tongue around the tip in a slow circular motion while she moved her hand up and down him lazily. She felt him stiffen fully once again and wrapped her lips around him alternating between teasing him at the end and taking him completely into her mouth. After a few sucks, Adrienne adjusted her body so that she was kneeling between his legs and no longer sitting beside him. Daniel was trying to figure out what she was doing, hoping she wasn't stopping, until he felt a change in pressure where she had been sucking.

The tongue ring...

Oh dear god...

He melted back into the sofa, the sensation was too much but he didn't try to stop her just laid his head back, letting himself enjoy.

Why was he letting her do this?

He had spent so much time fighting off Vala's advances that he never stopped to think what he would do if he and Adrienne were in a situation like this. He felt a surge of pleasure rocket through his body, making him gasp out. Adrienne pulled back and worked him up and down more quickly with her hand, peering up at him for his reaction. He was breathing heavily, reaching out for her head, his hips convulsing as she ran her hand lightly up his inner thigh, cupping him, letting her finger gently rub the spot underneath. He was moaning loudly now and Adrienne could tell that he was not going to last much longer if she kept up the pace. She slowed her hand but didn't let go, making him glance up in confusion and slight embarrassment.

"Sorry, I was getting a little carried away."

"You're supposed to," she replied, letting her tongue tease down for a moment, "let's me know I'm doing something right." He flushed again, she was doing more than right and she giggled, pulling her head back, continuing to pump him up and down with her hand.

"God you're so hot when you're embarrassed," she teased. He tried to smile but seemed too scared to move, Adrienne quickly determining that she was going to have to do everything. Stroking him up and down again with more fervor, she gazed into his as he started to breath heavy again.

'Daniel, I'm gonna give you a choice..." she began, "this or me?"

He sat in silence for a second as if he hadn't quite registered what she was saying. She was about to repeat herself when he looked up at her.

"Is there a correct answer?" he asked.

"Nope shug, I don't play games," she replied.

"You," he answered quickly wanting just that, wanting to be inside of her. She didn't respond, just got to her knees and began to undo the top button of her jeans, teasing him as she pulled down the zipper slowly. Unable to contain himself, he pulled her forward, reaching for her hips, ripping her jeans and panties to the floor, dragging her body toward him.

"Patience Indy," Adrienne scolded, "Let me take these off."

Daniel was mesmerized as Adrienne stripped in front of him, her lower body tattoos visible. He wanted to run his tongue along each of them so slowly and was so insanely aroused he couldn't even think straight. Shaking his head as he saw her pull her clothing off of the ends of her feet, he got brave, finally able to form words.

"Can I make another request?" he asked.

"Sure," she smiled, tossing the clothing aside.

"Can we go to the bedroom?" he tried, hoping to get the answer he wanted. If he was going to take her, he didn't want to do it on the floor.

"Are you preparing to enjoy this for a while Daniel?" she teased, using his name, not calling him Indy.

It made it more real.

He wanted to explode.

"If you're up for it," he got a little braver; after all, she was very willing and he did find her attractive.

And smart.

And perfect.

He started to stand but she shoved him back down and crawled into his lap, slamming him into her. She was drenched and she clenched him once he was all of the way inside of her. He gasped out again, reaching his hands to her hips.

"No bedroom?" he asked as he began to rock his hips underneath of her coming to the very fast realization that he was having sex with his assistant. He didn't care though, it felt too good to stop. Adrienne just giggled.

"Start here, end there, sound like a plan?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows and smiling.

He just nodded and went to kiss her neck, realizing that her t-shirt was in his way. He reached for its hem and pulled it over her head, not losing the rocking motion he was making underneath of her. As he expected she was wearing a sports bra, but he decided to leave that on for the time being. He kissed his way along her collarbone and then up her neck, making her whimper. It was the sound that he'd heard come from her and it turned him on more. Grabbing her hips, he pushed himself in deeper and she shouted this time, throwing back her head, riding him wildly. Containing herself, she looked back at him quickly.

"I had NO idea," she smiled, "but I'm gonna enjoy this. Get naked," she ordered. Nodding, Daniel reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. He went to remove what was still left of his pants but realized that would require them to separate, something that he did not want to do. Reading the displeasure in his eyes, Adrienne reached up for his cheek, running her palm there slowly.

"I'll race ya, sports bra for pants. First one in da bed and nekked gets control," she said with a light bit of her lip, dashing off down the hall. He knew he would lose, but he didn't care, he stood quickly, removing the rest of his clothing and following.

Her bedroom looked like a temple to Bacchus and Daniel couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all considering they were both intoxicated and having sex. She was kneeling on the bed which was covered in a deep purple bedspread waiting for him and he smiled as he approached her.

"I lost," he said, crawling onto the bed in front of her.

"I forfeit," she smiled, pulling him onto her as she lay on her back. Thrusting her hips upward, she didn't seem to want to wait, and he reached down, guiding himself into her.

This time, she threw back her head.

"Dear God Daniel!" she shouted out, pulling him into herself deeper with her legs. He looked down at her, smiling.

"I thought you didn't believe in God?" he teased.

"You're quickly making me question that assertion," she was able to gasp out as he leaned in, beginning to thrust into her forcefully, pulling out slowly, teasingly and then just before he pulled out of her body completely would slam himself back in. She was moaning and rocking underneath of him, so he just continued his rhythm, watching her face looking for cues as to when he had done something in particular to please her.

He wanted to please her; the thought of pleasuring her was just as enticing to him as the thought of his own pleasure.

She held onto him tightly, forcing him at times to remain inside of her as she ground into him and he did as she directed.

They made love like this for a long while, Adrienne making sure to stop Daniel when she felt he was going to climax too soon and stopping herself when she thought she was on the edge. It was amazing, and Adrienne was pretty well fully sober by the time she couldn't hold back. She was atop him again, holding onto the overhead rails of her canopy bed while she ground down onto him. His hands were all over her, everywhere she has ever wanted them to go and the build was to the point that she could no longer control. Panting, she gazed down at him.

"Daniel?" she asked.

"Yea," he breathed out.

"I'm close, very close," she whimpered.

"Thank God," he replied, "because I can't hold out much longer." She smiled. God he was handsome; easily the most handsome man she had ever seen. She wanted to see him go, to see him enjoy the climax of the intimate experience they had shared, so she leaned over close to his face, bringing her lips to his ear.

"Let go," she whispered, pecking him lightly as she ground down further.

'"But you?" he asked.

"Trust me, let go," she begged.

So he did.

He rested his head back into the pillow and held back no longer.

The orgasm started deep inside of him, hitting him like a wave and he threw his head back, screaming loudly as he held onto her hips. The feeling of him inside of her exploding sent her over the edge and she held onto his hands at her hips, shouting out as the feeling erupted in her as well. She pushed down onto him harder and they moved together in a frenzy or sweat, fluids and screaming.

Panting, Adrienne collapsed onto him when she finished, bringing her lips to his ear.

"Daniel, you're amazing," she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder. Smiling, he reached his hand around to her head, stroking her hair.

"I have a good partner," he replied, and she giggled, gently kissing his bicep.

"Add that to the list of things that we do well together," she answered and he kissed her head, peering over at the clock, noting that it was a little after one in the morning.

"Can I stay here? I'm still a little tipsy and it's pretty late," he asked. She crawled from on top of him and made her way to the bathroom, tossing him a towel.

"Of course, you can sleep here if you like. After all, what's the worst that could happen? We could end up in bed together," she laughed as she got back in with him, pulling back the covers. The realization hitting him, Daniel grew red in the face.

"Adrienne, I really didn't intend for this to happen," he started but Adrienne shushed him with a gentle kiss.

"The only thing I'm regretting is that I dove right into your pants before kissing this beautiful mouth," she rubbed his lips lightly with her thumb. He pulled it away so he could honor her request, kissing her again, slowly, sweetly, never wanting to stop.

When they broke away, Adrienne pulled down the blankets the best she could with him sitting on them indicating for him to crawl in beside her. He did without hesitation and she rolled over onto her side, feeling him pull his body behind her and slip his arm around her waist. In complete bliss, she let herself fall asleep in his grasp.

Daniel awoke the next morning with a splitting headache and aching all over. He reached out, fully expecting to find himself asleep on his keyboard but instead felt a pillow under his hands. Pushing himself up, he saw he was lying in a strange bed.

With purple linens.

Naked.

This was Adrienne's bed.

"Nice and slow Indy... don't take it too fast."

He slowly looked behind him to see Adrienne sitting at the foot of the bed, mug in hand.

"Here shug, drink this," she said as she passed the mug to him.

"What is it?" he sat up the rest of the way reaching for the offering.

"Blackberry tea," she answered, "nothing weird, I promise."

He sipped cautiously, drinking more once he realized she was right.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Ten," she answered, cautiously, awaiting his reaction.

"Shit," he sputtering, starting to stand, grabbing his aching head and trying to cover his nudity. She stood and walked over to him, holding him up and kindly wrapping the blanket around him and he smiled at her, realizing how silly the gesture was. She'd seen more of him in the past twenty four hours than anyone other than himself had seen in a while.

Stop worrying about the blanket stupid.

"Don't worry, I already called Sam. I told a white lie. Remember, those things you hate," she said.

"And?" he said as he sat back down on the bed, her purple comforter wrapped around his waist messily, the fabric slightly slipping down his hip.

"She said we're good to go. Show up if we feel like more or less," Adrienne said, sitting beside him.

"What did you tell her?" he looked over at her worried.

"That we did things to rival Vala's imagination..." she smiled.

"For real..." but there was panic in his voice. They HAD done things to rival Vala's imagination, for hours...

"That the stuff I finished yesterday an hour earlier was so hard that I decided to look at it again after my run, took it home, found an error on my part and called you," she amended. He kept drinking the tea.

"Once you keep that cup down, I'll give you some Advil," she continued.

"You seem to know a lot about hangovers," he teased.

"Shut up or I'll stop treating you," she smiled and he laughed, feeling like they were back to normal. Well, sort of normal.

He was sitting naked in her bed after a night of love making.

Yeah, that's normal.

"Can I take a shower?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll get you some stuff," she started to stand, stopping at the door.

"What?" he could tell she wanted to say something.

"Can I join you?" she asked and Daniel paused, remembering what happened last night but he really had no idea what they were going to do. She was his assistant.

"Uh," was the only answer he could come up with.

"It's ok, I was just asking. Trying to feel out what we did last night..." Adrienne headed for the bathroom.

She's fantastic, he thought, everything I could have wanted and more. Determined, Daniel looked down at the bedspread and just let it fall to the floor, following behind her naked.

"Ad?" he stuck his head in, still using the doorframe to hide himself somewhat.

"Yeah," she looked over her shoulder.

"We can't tell anyone, if we, continue, like this, at least not at first, not until I figure out if we're gonna, well, get busted," he tried not to sound like a complete creep. His mind was racing, thinking that this may work, could work, he just needed to look into things.

"Of course not," she responded, reaching and turning the water on, pulling the t-shirt over her head.

Now he wasn't the only one naked.

"Come on handsome, let's get washed up," she whispered, turning around, reaching out her hand and he came right to her.

He'd figure this out later.


	3. Chapter 3 - Erotic Alternate to Trust

_Ok, so what IF some conversation in the tent led to so REAL opening up..._

_That's a fun fantasy, right?_

"Ninety seconds, do it again," Cameron said as he clicked the stopwatch, glancing up slightly at Adrienne knowing her reaction. She sighed and started to undo her tac vest, wondering if this would ever end, this latest test in Cameron's little master plan he had laid out for her, the plan to make her a full team member. It was so stupid, Daniel might as well have made her a large sign that read "This is Addy, my personal servant" friendship or not. Sure, she wanted to be on the team, hell she wanted to be on any team, but for now she was just happy to be here at all.

Cam didn't share in her contentment.

Kneeling as she pulled the vest from her shoulders, Adrienne peeked up to see if Cam was looking at her or still playing with the stopwatch, laying out everything for herself nicely onto the floor of the lab, standing quickly, her hands on her hips.

"No cheating Addy, you can't lay it out," Cameron scolded, standing from where he was sitting on the center table, pointing at her organized set up.

Damn, she thought, caught me.

Shaking his head, he walked over, messing up the pile of equipment and returning back to the table, hopping back up to his previous seat, laughing at her attempt.

"Cam, it's 11 at night; I'm exhausted, and we've been doing this for," she paused, looking at the clock over Daniel's desk, "almost an hour," Adrienne replied, a hint of a whine in her voice. Adrienne tried hard not to complain, Vala did enough of that for the entire base, but right now the cajun woman just wanted sleep.

Lots and lots of sleep.

Daniel had been working her too hard lately, and there was a tiny part of her that was fearful that he would arrive just in time to give her something else to do before she could race down to her quarters and slip into her bed away from home.

"I thought you were a night owl," Cam retorted, looking at her in such a way as to indicate that he had no intention whatsoever of stopping this little exercise. Frustrated and exhausted, Adrienne shook her head in response.

"Not after a five mile run, an hour of weights with Dex, more busy work from Indy waiting for me upon my return and now this. This is torture," she explained, crossing her arms at him. While Adrienne understood what it took to be a part of this group and hang with the big boys, sometimes she felt she was being pushed a little too hard, especially for someone who was hired to be a lab rat, originally anyway, but Cam's expression didn't falter.

"Well Daniel's not gonna be coming on every mission with you. Since you've managed to not only do a decent job lately but have got Jackson trusting you to do things, you'd better believe that Sam's gonna be shipping you off in his place a lot, especially when she wants to avoid an IOA meeting alone. And if I'm your team leader in those instances, I want you to be ready. Again," he argued. Adrienne sighed, wanting to remind Cameron that during that trade negotiation she supposedly "done a decent job at" that she had to go get Daniel for help but it didn't seem that Cam cared about that right now.

There was no way out of this, so she took a stance over the equipment and nodded, prepared to try again.

"Go!" Cam shouted, activating the stopwatch. Adrienne raced through the equipment, finding her jacket, her vest, putting everything on in order. Finishing in a time she was certain had to be faster than before, she buckled her vest and placed her hand onto her hips, breathing out in satisfaction.

"DONE!" she shouted, Cam smiling from ear to ear.

"Sixty seconds! That's what I'm talking about girl!" Cameron exclaimed, leaping from the table in excitement to give her a high five. Adrienne clapped his hand and ripped off her tac vest, throwing it in celebration knowing that done in sixty seconds meant she could go to bed, finally.

"That's only my face," she heard behind her and turned to discover that Daniel was standing at the doorway, removing her tac vest from his head and removing his glasses along with them.

"Sorry, Indy, sorry," she said, rushing over to him and reaching for his face to see if he was alright or if she had managed to break his glasses.

"I thought you were going to bed," she added, squeezing his shoulder and taking his glasses from his hand. They seemed alright so she handed them back to him, a frown on her worry filled face.

"Can't sleep," he replied, handing her the vest over, without another word, walking over to his desk. Making a face of his own, Cam stood from the table, his eyes tracking Adrienne.

"I think we're good for the night girl, run at lunch?" Cam asked, knowing Adrienne would have to see what was wrong with Daniel, like always. Since that little road trip Cam himself had talked his way out of they were now inseparable, a strange turn of events considering it wasn't that long ago that he had locked them in an elevator watching them at the verge of a fist fight via the security cameras.

"Yeah, no problem," she answered, distant, her thoughts were elsewhere. Of course they were, Cam thought and left, still mystified by their sudden friendship.

What exactly had happened in that U-haul?

Her lips drawn, nervously playing with her lip ring, Adrienne walked over to where Daniel was sitting down at his desk, staring at a rock relic that had been brought back yesterday and stood behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"I thought you weren't going to obsess over this," Adrienne said. Shrugging his shoulders underneath of her palms, Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled away slightly, peering forward.

"I feel like I owe it to Kasuf just to see," he replied, dragging the magnifier over the stone this time for a better view, squinting and straining, running his finger across the top line of the text. She could tell he wasn't reading, she'd gotten good at his tells, his crystalline eyes shifting lazily in their sockets, his mind she knew having already memorized what he had read. No real discovery was happening right now, he was just doing what he did best: worry. Sighing, she reached over and pushed the magnifier away, glaring down at him as he started to protest. Not to be questioned, she gave him that look, the look that dared him to start this again, not this late at night and not about this, again.

"You looked at it yesterday. I looked at it yesterday. You looked at it this morning. I looked at it this morning. It still says the same thing Indy, I promise," Adrienne whispered, stepping back and pulling up a chair. Daniel started to pull the magnifier over the stone again when she reached over for his leg making him stop his hand mid grab.

"But if there's a chance, just a small chance that part of the tribe, even slightly distant cousins are still alive, I think I really need to take the time to analyze it. Can you look at it again?" Daniel asked, almost begging, gazing slowly at Adrienne. This meant a lot to him; she knew the moment the stone had arrived yesterday he wasn't going to let up until he knew absolutely for sure that there was nothing to it.

And for some reason which was eluding her, she couldn't say no to him anymore.

"How long did you sleep last night?" she asked him, trying a different approach rather than outright refusal. He breathed out, turning his head slightly to look back at her.

"Sleep's a relative term," he replied, knowing full well that wouldn't be an acceptable answer and, as expected, it wasn't. He knew the moment she stood and grabbed his hands he was about to be scolded.

Isn't this a turn of events me being the one scolded, he thought, letting her take his hands into her own.

"No, it's not, it's sleep, your body needs it. Daniel, I'm not gonna to lecture you again. Get up," she pulled, trying to bring him to his feet but Daniel pulled back gently, gazing up at her with sorrow in his face.

"Adrienne, just let me read it. One more time," he requested, his eyes pleading more than his voice. He wasn't going to quit, so she relented, sitting back down to monitor his request.

"One more time Indy, just one more time," she gave in. Nodding in agreement, Daniel moved the magnifier back over the artifact, staring down into the glass, tracing his finger over the lines again.

_And when we rejected Ra we were banished, never to see our kinfolk again. _

Standing, unable to sit and wait, Adrienne rose to her toes to read over his shoulder. These were his people, she understood; it was more than just Shar'e that he had bonded with in Abydos. She didn't read the rest, she knew it went on about setting up a new civilization and how they lived a life without gods. SG-12 had found the tablet in an abandoned village on the outskirts of an ally, on a planet that looked a lot like Abydos, but other than some busted pottery and other relics of a village long abandoned, there were no signs of inhabitants, much less ones that had been there recently.

There was motion, forcing Adrienne to stand flat on her feet as he brought his hand to his chin and his eyes moved upward. She knew what that meant too, he was lying to her, and reading it again. Choosing not argue or scold him further, Adrienne simply reached over and clicked off the light to the magnifier. Caught, she thought, as she saw him bite his lip, looking away to the wall of lockers.

"Nice try shug," she said, sliding the arm of the large tool into its resting place at the side of his desk while Daniel continued to stare off into space. Letting out a sigh, Adrienne reached for his shoulder again, squeezing it lightly.

"Fine, I'm getting up," he said finally and stood, his gaze still staring out into space. Adrienne moved to shut down the rest of the lab, waiting for him to leave in front of her to ensure that he would keep his word and go to bed. Besides the fact that they were friends now, his obsessive tendencies in the lab was the exact reason she had been hired in the first place; he needed sleep. She pointed down the hall and watched him head toward the elevators that would take him to his quarters, pressing the button and waiting, his arms wrapping around his waist.

Safely out of sight, or Daniel at least occupied with worry, Adrienne turned back to pull the door to the lab closed, running her fingers over to the keypad, entering in her code.

_New Password? _

The message popped up onto the screen, Adrienne hastily selecting yes.

_Enter new password now, followed by ##_

Adrienne typed quickly just in case Daniel was making his way back to the lab, to argue with her or to make sure she wasn't doing this very thing, but regardless he would never figure this out. He didn't know Alexander Skarsgard's birthday; he would never be able to figure out that she used her celebrity crush's personal information. Thinking that should keep him out of the lab until she returned herself in the morning, after a night's sleep she so desperately needed, Adrienne tapped in the double pound sign and stepped back, waiting for confirmation.

"Have fun trying to come back down and obsess Indy," she said out loud and walked, finally, to join him at the elevators just as the doors opened.

When she arrived to work the next morning he wasn't sitting outside waiting to yell at her, which she thought was a guarantee, so much so she had rehearsed her speech in the elevator.

He wasn't there at all.

Puzzled, she coded herself into the lab, shocked to see that he was sitting right there, at his desk, magnifier in place and reading that damned tablet again, looking like he hadn't slept all night, his hair a disheveled mess and a shadow coming in around his chin. Slamming her backpack onto the floor, she stormed over to his desk, shouting as she walked.

"Dammit Daniel!" Adrienne yelled, "You're grating my last nerve this week!" A smirk on his face, he looked up at her, raising his eyebrows.

"I expect more of you than using your little celebrity obsession's birthday to keep me out of my own lab," he responded instead, smiling. At least he looked like he was feeling better. Sighing, Adrienne shook her head, stopping in her tracks, knowing what was coming next.

"When do we leave?" she asked, hopping up onto the center table, crossing her legs yoga style.

"Two," he replied curtly, glancing back down at the small stone slab. Adrienne didn't even need an explanation, she knew him well enough; he had waited until she was asleep, went to speak with Sam, sweet talked his way into going to check it out and then came back down here. How he had ascertained her Swedish love's birthday she had yet to figure out, but that was something she could worry about later. Seeing no point in arguing, she let her brain go into mission mode.

"Who's going?" she asked, trying to figure out what loose ends she needed to tie up before accompanying her boss, her friend, on this wild goose chase. Had she finished up that insanely huge pile from yesterday? Where was she on her translation schedule? Running her to do list through her head as she stood from the table to retrieve her iPad, she almost missed his answer were it not for what his answer was.

"No one, just us," he said. She paused, mid slide from the table, turning and looking at him in complete bewilderment.

"Uh, no, what about Cam, Teal'c Vala, Dex, Teyla, John, anybody?!"!" Adrienne said, beginning to list anyone that usually came on missions, people that carried a gun and made sure she and Daniel didn't get shot at while digging in the dirt. She wasn't worried about being able to take care of herself but she didn't like to be working on something Daniel expected her to concentrate on without back-up standing right there, armed and ready to go.

"Sam seems to think we can take care of ourselves. There's nothing there but a small village that doesn't seem to pose a threat, right by the gate, and SG-12 is still with them, working on a few things. She's giving us no more than three days to investigate before we have to be back," he explained, shrugging, his expression apologetic. Adrienne was a planner, she liked to have everything laid out in triplicate before they left, and dropping everything to dash off wasn't normally her style. He stood there waiting, wondering what she would say when she sighed, shaking her head at him for the umpteenth time this morning.

"What do we need to bring?" she asked, feeling that there was really no way out of this. She walked over to her locker and looked back over her shoulder, still shaking her head at him as Daniel smiled and began to list off the items from his legal pad.

Knowing this trip meant crawling around hunched over on her hands and knees for possibly three day, Adrienne was determined to get in a run before they left. After she packed everything that was not only dig site standard but Daniel standard as well, which was about ten times the amount of gear she used when running a dig herself, she slipped away to the gym, texting Cameron on the way to let him know of the time change to their daily workout. Unfortunately he was stuck in a training session for most of the next two days, except for lunch which she would have to skip, so Adrienne resigned herself to running alone. Grabbing a towel from the front table, she climbed onto the treadmill, slipping on her headphones and tuning out the world.

About 3 miles into a 5 mile run Daniel was standing in front of her, shoving his glasses up his face, a file folder in hand. Wondering what brought him in to witness her sweaty majesty, Adrienne pulled off her headphones and kept running, curious as to what he wanted.

"Are you ready yet?" he asked.

"Do I look ready to you?" she replied, not slowing down the exercise machine or her stride. That was a stupid question, she thought, she understood that he was excited, but storming into the gym to bother her during the one personal thing she had asked to do before they left was obnoxious, friends or not.

"I was hoping we could leave a bit earlier since we're ready to go," he paused, as if he was considering his own words for a moment and continued, "Correction. We are leaving earlier since we're ready to go. How long will it take you to shower?"

Rolling her eyes, Adrienne put her headphones back onto her head and kept running. He needed to calm down and be patient and stop working himself up again, that wasn't going to get them anyway other than Daniel stuttering, stammering and running around like a 'squirrel on crack', a comparison that he did not appreciate her making. She saw Daniel reach for the emergency stop button and she ripped the head phones off of her head again, glaring.

"Daniel, do you want to go alone? Arrete toi, let me run and I'll be ready to go shortly. Chill out, you're gonna give yourself a heart attack," she ordered, not trying to be mean, just trying to make him relax, but her voice carried around the gym, stolen glances shot in their direction.

No everyone, we're not fighting again, she wanted to scream but held back, focusing her attention on him.

Without protest he removed his hand, his face growling silently, and turned, storming out of the gym. Adrienne popped the headphones back on before she could hear the whispers, the accusations of 'there they go again," drowning the judgement with some hard-core rap.

Understanding his excitement and nervousness, and feeling guilty for snapping at him, Adrienne stopped her run at four miles, rushed through her shower and headed down to the lab where she found him staring into the magnifier, reading the lines over, again, mouthing them to himself.

This man was relentless.

Grabbing her backpack and tac vest from where she had left them at their desk, Daniel not glancing up in acknowledgement, she strapped on her vest, put on her backpack and grabbed her staff weapon. She marched over to Daniel, rolling her eyes as he continued to remain aloof and engrossed, and tapped him on the shoulder, surprising him as he nearly spilled a cup of coffee onto the tablet.

"Come on Batman," she teased, "let's rock and roll." She decided not to mention stopping her workout early just for him; it would make him think she was either there for his bidding or come out just plain bitchy. As he turned in his chair, his face serious now, and less excited, she noticed he already had his tac vest on and was ready to go, his hand reaching down to the messenger bag at his feet. Going right into briefing mode, he stood and pulled his pack across his shoulders.

"Alright, remember they don't speak Egyptian, it's a separate dialect altogether, so make sure you have those notes I forwarded you," he started as Adrienne reached behind herself, patting her backpack.

"Loaded and ready to go. Calm down; I've gotcha covered shug. I'm even bringing Eric," Adrienne replied, hoping to lighten his somber disposition but Daniel looked at her confused.

"Eric?" he asked as Adrienne was already lifting her staff weapon into the air, a huge grin on her face. Daniel shook his head and laughed, of course she would have to name the damn thing but her joke had its intended effect; he was smiling again.

"Isn't that the vampire you and Vala lust over?" he questioned, rolling his eyes at himself for even knowing that. He had learned something in his Sunday night embarrassment; he learned that Eric Northman was the name of Louisiana's Sheriff of Area 5.

Christ, he remembered the damn title of the vampire's job.

What was this woman doing to him?!

Adrienne, however, was impressed.

"That I lust over," Adrienne corrected, a smirk across her lips, "Vala has moved onto werewolves."

"Of course she has," Daniel said, effectively ending his lapse into Adrienne's cable television insanity, and headed for the door to the lab, shutting out the lights behind them.

Daniel wasn't kidding when he said the village that had built up right around the gate was tiny; tiny was a generous word. Adrienne wasn't even sure that she would consider this a village, it was more like a small familial compound, three or four mud huts flanking a small pen of swine like animals. Nonetheless, there was someone to greet them when they arrived, as if he were representing a large city rather than this pint sized commune.

"Dr. Jackson," the man spoke, thankfully in English, bowing his head slightly. If there was one thing Adrienne could credit the Goa'uld with was that so many races spoke either English, Egyptian or Ancient, which was close enough to Latin that she could usually get by as long as it was spoken. Written, she preferred to have a Daniel journal on hand, just in case.

"Hello, we're sorry to keep disturbing your village going back and forth like this, but we're here to examine the ruins my friends have been working at," he explained, even though he was fairly certain that SG-12 would have explained the entire situation in advance. The man nodded politely, and led them to a worn path on the outskirts on the small settlement, not too far from the gate itself.

"It is about a half day's hike this way. You will see it coming up over the horizon, it is very easy to find," he assured them. Nodding in acknowledgment, Daniel thanked him and started off in the direction of the horizon, leaving his assistant behind.

Here we go, she thought, racing to catch up.

"Indy, we only have three days, and we're gonna spend a third of that just walking," Adrienne pointed out, hoping Daniel understood what they were walking into and had maybe looked into this more than just a cursory glance over the file. However, he didn't even hesitate, black boots to dirt, trudging swiftly up the path.

"Well, then I guess we need to get walking," he answered curtly, picking up his pace, his gaze on the bright double suns in the horizon.

"I should've worn my running shoes," Adrienne complained, hoping he heard, jogging to match his long stride. They walked, fast paced, down the worn path, cut through browning flat grasses and low growing foliage. There were no animals to be seen, no other people, just path, grass, bushes and the blaring suns. An hour into the walk, Daniel was stopping, wiping sweat from his brow, reaching groggily for the buttons to his black military issue jacket.

"I need to lose some layers," he said, waiting for the harassment. Adrienne often teased him that for someone that went to college in California he sure softened up all those years in Colorado.

"Wuss," she teased, right on cue, but started to remove her pack herself, taking off her jacket and folding it to stuff it into her pack. She peeled the black t-shirt off as well, leaving her in a tank top and black BDU pants. Reorganizing her things quickly, she tossed her pack over her shoulders once more, glancing up to face her boss to note that Daniel was looking down at her, waiting, a grin on his face.

"Then why are you losing layers?" he taunted, "DC weather make you soft?"

"Nope, if I have to babysit you I might as well get a tan doing it," she replied, winking at him. He laughed, leaving it at that, and they soldiered on, determined to make it to the site as soon as possible.

After a while, Adrienne stopped again.

"What now?" Daniel asked as he looked back, starting to be annoyed by their progress, or lack thereof. It felt like a 'half a day' was taking close to a week. He was tired, frustrated and anxious to discover what lay ahead of them, holding back hope inside that he had read the tablet correctly.

"Keep going fussy, I just need to eat," she replied, kneeling, rummaging through her pack and pulling out one of those little milk boxes she toted around that didn't need to be refrigerated, along with an apple.

"How can you eat that in weather like this?" he asked, still, after all this time mesmerized by her diet. The last thing he could ever imagine consuming in this heat was milk, much less milk at room temperature, but she just shrugged, standing and popping the straw through the metallic paper at the top of the box.

"I take my health seriously. Sometimes we have to do things to take care of ourselves that might not be pleasant, but we do them," she answered. Daniel started to leave it alone, not wanting to be rude or anger her, but there was a burning question in his mind, a question he would have never asked before, yet now that they were friends, he felt like he could finally ask.

"Adrienne, when did you start eating like this?" he inquired. Cutting her eyes away for a split second, Adrienne sighed and peered over at him, a hollow stare accented by dark cajun eyes.

"I know what you're thinking and it's partially true. Other than smoking though, Dad ate pretty healthy, just because he was an active person; we were an active little family. But, I did become a little obsessive and regimented when he was diagnosed, like I feared cancer was contagious or something stupid like that. Back then, I wouldn't even touch a soda bottle, as if the chemicals were going to permeate the plastic and enter my blood stream, but now, well, now I've realized that eating like this, taking care of myself like this, it just makes me feel better," she answered him, with pure honestly and no jokes.

"I hope I didn't offend you by asking," he said quietly, understanding even if he had never experienced it himself. Yes, his parents were gone, but in a flash of falling stone; he didn't have to watch someone wither and die over months, years.

"Not at all," she replied smiling, "it's never offensive to ask a question that's caring and honest." Not offering anything further, Adrienne pointed back down the path, taking a bite out of her apple and soldiering on.

As promised the ruins were easily visible on the horizon and Daniel could see the tents over to the side where SG-12 had left them, having ventured out further into the planet's wilderness. Sam had radioed them requesting they leave the camp half set up for Daniel and Adrienne and that they could bring everything back with them when their own mission was complete. The site of the ruins energizing them, they picked up their pace, dashing up the small rise, so they could begin looking around as soon as possible.

Not too far from the dig site itself, stood an army green research tent, complete with mesh sides to keep out the dust and what not and two sleeping tents behind it, one significantly larger than the other. Adjusting his pack, Daniel pointed over to the large tent, peeking over his shoulder at Adrienne.

"You can take one," he said, making his way to the smaller one.

"You sure?" she asked, "I'm a bit smaller," she joked, making a gesture to indicate that she was shorter, not smaller, her big cajun hips proof of that.

"Positive," he smiled, "I just want to get started so go ahead and get situated as soon as you can." That was indeed a nice gesture, and Adrienne appreciated it, walking over to the larger tent as requested, unzipping it and peeking inside. Discovering that it was empty and tossing her pack in, Adrienne looked back over at Daniel, trowel in hand.

"Ready!" she announced, smiling as she approached him. Daniel was just crawling into the smaller tent, and looked back at her, surprised, pausing in confusion.

"Really?" he asked and she knelt down behind him, setting her palms on her thighs, shaking the digging tool lightly at him.

"Indy, this is what, how many trips together now? You should know me better. Let's get to work!" she grabbed his bag from his hand, tossed it into the tent and stood, reaching out to help him up. Taking her hand, he got up immediately and looked around, trying to figure out where to start until the look in his eyes told her that he had found what he was looking for, marked with a small red flag.

"Ok, it was found over there, so let's get the gear and start gridding," he declared, pacing ahead. Time to get to business, Adrienne reached where he had dropped the gear and grabbed it, heading over to the small hill.

"Indy, shug, there's nothing here," Adrienne said many hours later, glancing hopelessly at her boss. She had been on many useless digs before and this was, well, useless. She felt awful, but in four grids she hadn't even found those pottery shards mentioned in the original reports by SG-12. Nevertheless, Daniel was still digging and Adrienne sat back on her feet, looking over at him, knowing full well that this wasn't going as he had hoped. His worry would set in very soon, very very soon, and here she was, stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, alone with a possibly depressed friend and colleague. Drawing up every bit of courage and empathy she had, Adrienne took a breath and spoke.

"Daniel, I'm thinking this might have been planted," she said, offering the only other theory she had, opting for his real name so she knew he was serious.

That got his attention.

He sat back, just like she was, and glanced over at her, the same look on his face from this morning, and from last night, one of worry and despair.

"I know," he said quietly just staring at his grid. Setting her trowel and brush aside Adrienne stood and walked over to him and kneeling on the outside of the red string she reached out, laying her hand softly on his shoulder.

"It won't bring her back," she said gently. Breathing out, Daniel tossed the trowel aside and stood, stepping over the string and walking toward a small patch of grass peeking through the dusty ground. Adrienne waited a moment and then stood, joining him, in silence, still unable to figure out what to say or what to do. Glancing over at him, she could see a trickling of dust gathered on his cheek, so she reached over and gently wiped it off with her thumb, returning her hands to her lap.

Still not speaking, Daniel smiled at the gesture, locking his blue eyes with her brown for a brief moment and then turning away once more. There was something he needed to get off of his chest, something he needed to get out, that was painfully obvious, but Adrienne hated to pry, yet she also hated seeing her friend sitting here, obviously at some kind of breaking point.

"How did it happen?" she asked finally, remembering her own words from before. She did care about him, much more than she had thought she was realizing at this very moment, and it was an honest question. No answer at first, Daniel looked up at the sun beginning to set on the horizon, his shoulders settling and Adrienne knew she had crossed the line. She knew that she shouldn't have asked, when suddenly he surprised her, quickly glancing over at her, his face in complete torment, before redirecting his attention to the horizon once more.

"Teal'c killed her. Killed the monster inside of her, but she was too attached, it killed them both. It was her or me and he made a choice," Daniel answered simply, lacking emotion in his voice.

Adrienne didn't know what to say.

No one had ever told her before, but that explained so much, especially knowing that years later the Tok'ra had introduced them to the technology that would have saved her, the technology that saved Vala. Their mutual friend must be a constant reminder, Adrienne had never thought of that before, even though she had read the file and knew part of what had happened to Shar'e. Maybe that was why he had the strange feelings he did for the alien woman; Vala was a living example of what might have been given the time. For a lack of anything to say in response, Adrienne scooted herself closer to him when she noticed it again, that arm wrapping thing that he did every now and then. It was so odd, he didn't do it often, but when he did it was somewhat unsettling. She sat there for a moment, racking her brain, trying to think of a reason for the gesture when it hit her.

He only did it when he was uncomfortable, but more importantly, he did it when he was sad and in that very instant she understood what he was doing. She wasn't quite sure if this was alright, but he looked like he needed a hug, from someone else, and a hug was something she could do.

Climbing up onto her knees, Adrienne crawled in front of him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, slipping her hand behind his neck. He didn't flinch or pull away, just leaned forward, letting her hold him, still not saying a word.

"Indy, I think we should call it a night. Maybe fresh eyes in the morning will help us find something else," she whispering in his ear, squeezing him tighter, her heart racing, worried about his reaction, when he did something he had never done before. Reached his arms around, Daniel wrapped them tightly around her shoulders pulling her close to him, hugging her as tightly in return. It was only for a second and then he released and pulled away, as if they had never made contact, and the moment was gone, leaving Adrienne confused.

"Yea, we're probably overlooking something due to exhaustion. Can you set one of your little toys to wake us up early?" he asked, looking over at her, his eyes tired and sad. Adrienne tried to smile to make him feel better but she just wanted to hug him again, to take it all away.

"Sure thing, but you'd better put it in your tent. I have a tendency to attack alarm clocks," she joked.

"I've felt you hit so that's probably a good idea," he responded, laughing lightly, although she couldn't tell if it was forced or not. Before she could try to analyze, however, Daniel stood, leaving his tools behind and headed back for the encampment. Adrienne stayed seated for a few moments longer, watching him leave, that determination from earlier gone. There was so much more to him than she had thought when they first met, there was this entire hidden person inside, a kind, thoughtful person and clearly a person in pain.

The person Sam had told her he was.

Out of the corner of her eye, Adrienne could see Daniel slipping into his tent, and she stood, deciding to straighten up their workspace before heading back herself.

_We've found nothing so far, not even evidence of a temporary encampment or more of those pottery relics SG-12 found from their first excavation. Adrienne seems to think that maybe someone placed this here and I'm starting to think she might be right. Who would do such a thing? And why? Either way, I've set, well Adrienne has set, the alarm for 0500 so we can be ready to work as soon as the sun comes up. If a second grid set doesn't yield any results I think we'll have to go back and tell Sam it was a wash. _

_On a personal note, I was really surprised by Adrienne today. I mean, things have gotten better since we became friendlier, but she still doesn't hesitate to shove it into my face when I'm wrong. But she didn't today. Not once. In fact, she was quite pleasant, and not just the fun we've had these past few weeks goofing off together but caring. I think she was actually worried about me today, no, I know she was. I've noticed that she's different for our little group; that she seems to hold onto things a bit harder. I'm starting feel like I can talk to her on a more personal level. In fact, I have to admit that I'm glad Sam hired her. _

Daniel tapped the pen for a moment, considering his words. Adrienne really had been there for him today, with no ulterior motive. It was just like the original days of the team, when it was he, Sam, Jack and Teal'c. Not that Cameron and Vala weren't great, but they hadn't grown as close as the original group and since they had all been given their separate assignments, they seemed to grow even more distant. To be honest, everyone seemed much more distant these days, not that he had really confided in anyone other than Teal'c before, but he felt like he had lost his connection to others as the years passed by, a connection that he hadn't realized he had come to rely on so strongly. Shutting his journal and reaching to tuck it into his pack, he peeked down at his watch noting it was nearly eleven, Earth time. Slipping off his glasses to tuck them safely out of the way, he rolled to turn off the lantern when he heard a soft rustle at the door of his tent. He froze, reaching carefully behind himself for his zat gun, sliding it ever so slowly from the side of his pack.

"Indy, good, you're still up," the voice whispered. It was Adrienne. What was she doing up and about at eleven at night? He set down the zat gun and leaned over to unzip the door to the tent and almost instantly, through blurred vision, he saw Adrienne kneel down, sticking her head in through the green fabric flap.

"Can I come in?" she asked, remaining at the door until invited.

"Yeah, is everything alright?" he replied, moving over so he was not blocking the door, reaching for his glasses to see if she was injured or otherwise in need of his assistance. Ducking in, Adrienne crawled over to the far corner of the tent, which in reality wasn't that far away at all, Daniel zipping the flap behind her. When he turned to reach for the lantern and his glasses, clicking it on again as he slipped the frames onto his face, she was looking back at him, sitting cross legged as she did when he noticed she had on no shoes and had changed into yoga pants.

"Oh yeah, I just couldn't sleep, saw your light on and figured you were feeling the same," she answered, grabbing her ankles in a self-conscious manner, crossing them tight to her body. As she moved her hand away from her left foot, a trail of green caught his eye and he remembered the vine tattoo, the tiny leaves at her toes, meandering up her foot and weaving its way to her ankle. She saw him looking at it and smiled, extending her foot and nodding her head in its direction.

"I was thinking about getting some more work done, adding some flowers or something. I still like it but it seems, I dunno, depressing in a way," she said, turning her foot from side to side in the dim light. Daniel looked at her over his glasses, puzzled.

"Are you asking me if you should?" he inquired, Adrienne throwing her hand up shaking both the limb and her head.

"No, I was just making a statement, I noticed you looking," she responded.

"Actually," he said honestly, "I was wondering how bad that hurt." She smiled and started to laugh, preparing to answer a question she had answered dozens of times before.

"More than words can describe," she admitted, earning her a look of bewilderment and confusion.

"If it hurt so bad the first time then why in the world would you want to add to it?" he asked, genuinely baffled by her logic completely. Why would she do that to herself?

"Beauty hurts," she replied, tucking her foot back under her and raising her eyebrows as Daniel rolled his eyes.

"You don't need to have pictures permanently inked on your body for that," he said, shaking his head causing Adrienne to break out into a grin from ear to ear.

"Awwww..." she was saying in that tone of voice she got when she was going to harass him, "Indy thinks I'm beautiful now, I'm moving up..." she paused, waiting for embarrassment to set in, but instead he gave her a look.

"Is there something wrong with that?" he retorted, not denying her accusation. She was beautiful, a very beautiful and kind woman, there was no harm in acknowledging that fact, "I just don't think you need to clutter yourself up for the sake of beauty."

"I don't really, I was just kidding. Like I told you before, they're more for me than anything else," she answered, starting to fiddle with her fingernails. He must be making her uncomfortable; he had noticed that she only picked her nails when she was nervous.

"I didn't mean to be rude. There's just a lot about you that I don't know, that no one knows and I wonder sometimes," he said, sitting forward and crossing his own legs, gazing over to where his assistant was seated in a matching pose. With a smile, she looked up at him and stopped picking her fingers, resting her hands on her feet.

"Ask," she said, her dark eyes peering up at him.

"Ask?" he repeated and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure, ask. I mean, I'm pretty boring; I don't have anything to hide. Ask," she restated. Raising his eyebrows, Daniel laughed, Adrienne shaking her head in confusion at his laughter.

"You're far from boring Addy, trust me," he laughed out. Extending her foot to kick him lightly on the thigh, she stood, making her way to the door flap of the tent on all fours, reaching to unzip the flap. Concerned, Daniel quickly quieted his laughter and turned his head.

"Where are you going? Did I do something wrong? Again?" he asked, started to worry, his mind going automatically to the defensive that he had learned to build up with her these many months, the mode in which he shut up because he completely lacked the ability to speak to her like a normal person, but she didn't snap or even shoot him a glance, instead turned around and smiled.

"No, I'm gonna get my pillow and sleeping bag. I'll be right back," she said, running the zipper in a circle to free her way.

"Wait?" Daniel turned to face her, trying to clarify, "You're planning on sleeping in here?"

"Yeah, why not? I mean, it doesn't look like we're going to sleep anytime soon anyway and you seem to want to play twenty questions. Eventually, one of us will talk and the other just won't answer because they've fallen asleep and then we can crash," Adrienne explained simply but Daniel just stared at her, worried.

This wasn't a motel, surrounded by other people or a truck stop surrounded by truckers.

They were alone, completely alone for miles.

Sensing his concern, she reached her hand over, placing it on top of his and squeezing it lightly

"I'm not Vala, alright? I can appreciate the attractiveness of my friend without trying to jump him or whine my way into his pants. But if it's gonna make you uncomfortable, I'll just head to bed. I'm cool either way," Adrienne assured him, her voice full of honestly. Relaxing his face, Daniel considered her words and then started to laugh again.

Now it was Adrienne's turn to be confused.

"What are you laughing at?" she made a face at him.

"You said I was attractive," he replied, now taking his turn to wait for her embarrassment, and she scowled, turning back for the door.

"Go to hell Daniel," she answered, laughing and red in the cheeks, slipping out of the tent.

When she returned five minutes later, she brought not only her pillow and sleeping bag but the rest of her belongings as well, crawling back in and setting herself up in the corner opposite him so they were facing one another. She fluffed her pillow, slipping into the bag and got comfortable, laying down on the floor of the tent.

"Hit the light," she ordered and Daniel quickly did as she asked, scooting into the folds of fabric to lay down himself. He could tell she was waiting for him to get situated, so he hurried, making himself as cozy as possible on the hard ground.

"Ok, question one," she said into the dark, hoping he would take her up on her offer. This could be interesting, she thought, and give him the chance to ask her what he wanted and herself a chance to pry and discover some of the truths behind the stories Vala had told her. Realizing that she was serious about this little Q & A, that she really was planning to get down to business, Daniel sat for a second, wondering what he really wanted to ask her. What questions had floated through his head for so long before he could actually have a conversation with her that did not end up in a literal spilling of blood?

He decided to start easy.

"Alright, what did you think about the Stargate the first time you saw it?" he asked, waiting for her answer. That should be easy enough, he thought, get her warmed up for some of the things that he was more curious about, but surprisingly, she started laughing in the darkness, rather than giving him an answer.

"Please direct me to Malcolm Reynolds," she answered, still giggling.

"Who's Malcolm Reynolds?" Daniel asked confused, trying to remember if there were any young men by that name in the program. Adrienne, on the other hand, was still laughing.

"Firefly. Joss Whedon TV show. Hot starship captain," she answered, quickly figuring out that Daniel had no idea as to what she was talking about.

"Oh good lord," he responded, catching on that this was yet another of her TV men. Of course it was, why would he expect Adrienne to be serious?

"My turn," she announced before he could say anything smart.

"You didn't answer my question," he retorted before she could come up with a question of her own. He heard her calm her laughter and sipping in air to take a breath, dropping to a soft silence that lasted for a few moments before she continued.

"Honestly, it was more like, wow every single thing I ever dreamed of in childhood is real. I must get this job," she answered, serious this time, so much so he could hear in her voice exactly what she must have felt. He could relate to that, he remembered having that very same feeling standing in front of that gate with Katherine and realizing that he had been correct all along.

It was a dream come true.

"Go ahead, it's your turn now. Ask away," he said accepting the second answer, nerves fluttering in his stomach, wondering what in the world she could possibly ask. There was another somewhat uncomfortable pause, his heart racing,

"What's your favorite color?' she inquired quickly, her voice jovial once more, and Daniel frowned in the darkness, taken aback by the simplicity of her request.

"Really? That's your question?" he answered, relieved that was all she was asking, but also equally as puzzled as to where she could be going with this.

"Yes, color selection says a lot about a person. For example, orange is my favorite color and I'm curious, restless, and a few other things, but I'm asking you, this is my question. So, what color?" she explained, repeating her question. Seemed simple enough, he decided, answering honestly.

"Red," he replied, giving her his true answer, not the green or blue that everyone just associated with him, "so what does that say about me?" he asked in follow up curious as to what she could possibly learn from this question. In fact, he was curious himself since he had never actually told anyone before what his favorite color was, not that anyone had ever asked before. He could hear Adrienne mumbling to herself before clearing her throat to explain.

"That's very interesting. Red is so fiery, so passionate," she paused, like she was considering something else and then spoke again, "Yeah, that fits."

"How so?" Daniel asked, quickly becoming concerned upon hearing the word passionate, visions of Vala-like insanity dancing through his head. "And please don't tell me this is something you read in a magazine," he added.

"Not at all, I read it in the American Journal of Psychology. Red is associated with depth, wisdom and warmth, but also passion and fire. It is an oxymoron of sorts, representing both romantic love and blood, sacrifice, which while interconnected are also stark opposites. And, it was the official color of battle flags of the Ancient Romans, but I am sure you knew that," she explained intelligently.

"You read the American Journal of Psychology?" he asked, figuring he would avoid the other information she thought she had gleaned from him in this simple question, since she might use it to her advantage later.

"I used to read the American Journal of Psychology," she answered, "then I started working for you," she emphasized the last word but he could tell she was laughing. He laughed a little too; he did work her pretty hard, but he was very intrigued by this little revelation. Rarely did he meet someone, other than Sam, that was as geeky as he was and Adrienne just seemed to get geekier as the time passed.

"I can understand reading journals of our field, well, as much as you can tolerate them anymore considering our knowledge, but why psychology?" he pushed further.

"Actually, it was teaching that sparked the interest. I wanted to understand what motivated a student to do what they would do, whether it be to cheat on an exam or strive to get an A. I knew that I was intrinsically motivated as a student, but I wanted a better understanding of people, well, not like me," she answered. Made sense, Daniel thought, true educators want to understand their students as well as their subject matter.

"And? What were your findings Dr. Rowan? " Daniel inquired teasingly, but also genuinely curious. She never ceased to amaze him with her open mindedness and intelligence, yet, instead of a serious reply, he heard her begin to chuckle again.

"That people are basically screwed up," she said, laughing loudly and then stopping suddenly.

"Wait, that's a lot of questions out of you Daniel, it's my turn again," Adrienne countered. He chuckled, realizing that he had been caught, even though he really wasn't counting follow-ups as real questions. He decided to let her keep asking, as long as she was going to talk about things like color.

"Fine, but I should warn you, the color red is about the most fascinating thing about me, I can assure you," he said.

"Why did you get married so young?" she now asked. He froze. Well, we went from colors to personal awful fast, Daniel thought to himself, clearing his throat to stall his answer.

"Well, first off, I was 27, which is not young," he began, trying to defend himself and not reveal too much to her at the same time, "and it was an accident," he added.

"An accident? Well this is gonna be good. How does one get married by accident?" Adrienne asked, rolling over onto her side, or so he thought, judging her movement in the shadows, supporting her head on her hand, making sure she stayed awake for this.

"It was a ceremony, what I thought was a welcoming ceremony. It happened when we went through the first time and met Kasuf's people. They thought I was the leader since I could communicate with them and wasn't armed. They offered me Shar'e. I didn't realize that they had married us, well, until she..." Daniel trailed off, fearing he had said too much, something too personal but Adrienne was laughing not seeming to be bothered at all.

"Relax Indy, I'm not a soldier of Artemis ok, I know what you're saying. Well that had to be awkward," she said kindly. It took him a second to place the reference, Artemis, the virgin and resident prude of Olympus, but he quickly realized that she was trying to assure him that she wouldn't make fun and that she understood.

"Alright, well, but, yes, I mean I didn't, it wasn't appropriate, well, I just, yes it was awkward at first but then I just realized that I had never met a woman like her so I stayed on Abydos," he answered, stammering through the beginning before he could compose an answer, but Adrienne waited patiently for him to finish before speaking again.

"So a whole year and no kids?" Adrienne continued, hoping he wouldn't catch on...

"That's a separate question," Daniel responded, " and a personal one."

"Ok, sorry, don't answer, my bad. Your turn," Adrienne relented and lay back on the pillow once more, planning her later strategy, but Daniel breathed out slowly and sat up, every intention of answering, beginning to understand that she really meant no harm.

"I tried to make it as close to normal for me as possible, so I courted her. I courted my own wife, for lack of a better word. By the time we got to that point it wasn't soon after that she was taken..." there went his voice again, creating a sharp pang of guilt in Adrienne's gut. Just when they had begun talking about starting a family, his entire world had been ripped apart. He was trying to contain his emotions, feeling like an idiot tearing up here in front of her, darkness or not when he felt a hand on his leg.

"I'm sorry Daniel; I shouldn't have asked," she whispered into the dark, no nicknames, no jokes, but he didn't want her to feel bad. These were honest questions and she wasn't trying to be malicious with the information, she really wanted to get to know him better.

An honest and caring question should never be offensive.

"It's alright, I don't mind. It actually feels better to talk about it," he admitted, reaching down for where her hand was resting just above his knee, squeezing it lightly, "But, I'm not gonna let you cheat anymore," he tried to lighten the mood, changing the subject quickly back to Adrienne, "how about you? I know you haven't been married before, but really, at the rate certain people on base hunt you down you cannot tell me that you've been single your entire life." He heard Adrienne laughing again and assumed this question was acceptable and that she didn't take offense about his comment concerning Ronan and some other Dr. Rowan groupies.

"No, I've dated some guys, but really, once dad got sick I didn't have time for a relationship," she answered. Dammit, he thought to himself, why do I always forget about her dad? He started to apologize, hoping that he didn't go digging up memories that she was hoping to shove away herself, when he heard her continuing.

"There was one guy, Joshua, that I'm pretty sure wanted to get married, but things just didn't work out," she added.

That surprised Daniel; he couldn't see Adrienne as ever wanting to marry anyone at all, much less be in a relationship that could have led to marriage. Everything he knew about her screamed independence and she had indicated to him as much when she told him about her aunt, but the tone in her voice made him question that assertion. He hoped she'd keep talking, being that this was even more interesting than color analysis and he was actually learning more about Adrienne outside of her life here in D.C.

"You, married?" he asked, trying not to be too sarcastic, but playful, playful enough to keep her going. It worked; he felt a kick at his hip and heard a light giggle from the other end of the tent.

"Yes, married. I just, ugh. I have no problem with marriage, I don't, but I have high expectations. I think there needs to be a connection between two people, not just a physical one, but a spiritual and intellectual one, the trifecta of perfection. I mean, you have to spend the rest of your life with that person, there needs to be something there in 5, 10, 20, even 50 years," she explained.

"So you want a romance film?" he joked, unable to resist mocking her stereotypical female answer. He heard her breathe out loudly and he couldn't tell if she was upset, annoyed or just tired, but she was still talking so he kept his mouth shut.

"No, I don't want a romance film. Typical male answer. And I really don't believe in love at first sight either. I think that falling in love with someone takes time and takes the two people having a complete and total understanding of one another. But whatever, don't believe me," she replied, exasperated. He sat up a bit, even more intrigued; she was a lot more complex than he'd given her credit for.

"Fine, fine, I believe you. So what happened with this Joshua character?" he asked.

"I got bored," she said and heard Daniel laugh, "Wait, poor choice of words. Let's try that again. Joshua asked out a girl who dressed and acted like a boy, did everything against what was expected of her in the community, tattoos, crazy, me. A year into the relationship he wanted June Cleaver. Now granted, if that's what a woman is striving for, to be coddled and taken care of and cook and clean that's her choice and there is nothing wrong with that choice. But you can't expect someone to change who they are fundamentally as a person; that only happens on TV," she said. She expected him to counter her argument, but Daniel was laughing again, making her grow instantly nervous that she had said too much.

"What in the hell are you laughing at now?" she asked, worried, annoyed, offended, she didn't know what, but she just wanted him to stop and as if he read her mind, Daniel calmed his laughter to respond.

"Because I just find it odd that the most unique individual that I have ever met is also the most stable," he replied.

"How so?" Adrienne asked confused.

"You have such a clear vision of who you are and what you want and that vision is not determinant on anyone else around you. You don't need a man, but you would take one as long as he accepted you for who you are. And again, considering what I have learned about you over these months, I just find it oddly ironic," he explained, hoping he hadn't offended. It was oddly comforting talking to her, not just about his own past and memories but hers as well. She really did seem to have her head on her shoulders and to be honest it was refreshing.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, is it my turn again?" she asked, wanting to change the subject from how weird Daniel thought she was and get this conversation back on the track that led her to some answers about her boss and new friend.

"Be my guest," he replied. Adrienne paused for a moment, her next question one she knew would start a war in this small temporary living space, but one that had been burning her up inside for months. Willing herself to do it, she lay back into the pillow, staring up at the ceiling of the tent and asked.

"Why were you so mean to me when I was hired?" she finally posed the question that had agonized her since the day she was hired. She had never done anything but be nice to him, while he had been a complete creep, dashing off to find Sam to fire her the moment he discovered she was hired, treating her like she was his slave and not his assistant, snapping at her when she asked a simple question and as she expected, he was defensive instantly.

"I wasn't mean to you!" he shouted out without thinking. Adrienne sat up, searching for his outline in the darkness and resisting the urge to kick him upon discovering that in this tightly cramped space her foot was resting right by his side, a perfect and soft target.

"Seriously!? You literally greeted me my first day by trying to hunt down Sam to get rid of me!" Adrienne shouted back at his direction. She could see his silhouette in the dark and that he had sat up as well, making his side even more a tempting target, but he didn't scream back or give her another reason to kick him, instead she saw him sigh, slumping his shoulders.

"Ok, you're right, I wasn't very professional nor was I cordial," he admitted. She remained sitting up, looking over at his form, he defensive posture gone from his stance and replaced by a significantly subdued form.

"That doesn't answer my question," she stated, hearing him mutter under his breath. The question was obviously making him uncomfortable, more so than the questions about his late wife, but Adrienne needed to know, she just needed to know why, what she had done wrong, if for no other reason than to never do it again.

"Excuse me Dr. Jackson, I didn't catch that," she said, mocking him by calling him doctor, playfully she hoped, knowing full well that he hated when she did that. Daniel cleared his throat, and she thought she could make out him rubbing his face before he spoke.

"It wasn't that I had any problem with you. I was offended. Offended that Sam didn't think I could do my job anymore, and I was offended that she had researched you, hired you and put you to work in my lab without even asking my opinion or giving me warning for that matter. I felt like everyone else was suddenly promoted to some important position in the SGC and making decisions on my behalf after everything that I had done for this program. Once I figured out you weren't going away, I just tried to look for reasons not to like you, and I probably took out my overall frustrations on you as well and for that, I'm sorry," he finally answered, saying it out loud for the first time. He had felt betrayed by his friends and resented this intruder into his world, never stopping to think for just a moment that Adrienne didn't seek him out to destroy his life, in fact, she was as much a victim of the entire situation as he was.

"Well I seemed to really grate your nerves; I just thought maybe there was something about me that you didn't like," she asked, not really wanting to admit that, but feeling that she should. Adrienne had never been one to have many friends, especially at work, but for some reason it had really bothered her that he seemed to hate her so much despite her best efforts.

"There was. You didn't give me a reason to fire you," he joked thankfully receiving laughter as his response. It was true, the most frustrating thing about Adrienne was that she was a really nice, down to earth person who was good at her job. He really needed to be thanking Sam for finding her, for making his life easier and helping him work faster rather than tearing her apart for anything little thing he could.

"Soooo..." she started, "you don't mind my eating habits" she inquired cautiously.

"No, that's your choice, I don't care," he responded.

"Alright..." she continued, wishing she could see his facial expressions in the dark, "My music?"

"That's god awful, but as long as I don't have to hear it, you can listen to whatever you want," he answered quickly again, laughing.

"The fact that I can beat your ass?" she said trying not to crack up as she spoke, hearing him grunt or something in reply.

"You cannot beat my ass," he said, stressing cannot.

"Are you requesting a rematch Indy?" she asked, but he didn't answer, just chuckled a little more at his side.

"Thought so," she joked, lying back on her pillow.

"I'm not gonna fight you in the dark, at midnight," he answered and she could tell that he had laid back down himself, unable to keep her laughter quiet.

"Is that a challenge?" she asked.

"Possibly," he muttered, chucking himself. He felt her kick his leg again and that just made him laugh harder.

"What about my piercings and tattoos?" she asked. He'd noticed those, sure, and this time he answered without thinking.

"Actually, I think they're sexy," he said, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. He heard her giggle as his brain was already screaming, calling him an idiot, cursing him for even entertaining this entire game of twenty questions.

"Did the word sexy just come out of your mouth?" she asked.

Great, no taking that back now. Let's try to play it off.

"What I meant to say was that they look very attractive actually," he tried to restate but was already chastising himself for this response as well. She was giggling harder and he heard her roll around, feeling her arm lay itself across him.

"Don't worry Indy; I won't tell Vala you think I'm hot. It might give her heart failure," she joked, but left her arm where it was. Daniel huffed a bit.

"I am so sick of that woman dictating my life. It didn't work out, period. I can be attracted to whomever I want," he said indignantly.

And then froze.

Did he just say what he thought he just said?

Adrienne had stopped laughing and he felt her arm start to slip away.

"Why can't I ever shut up?" he asked out loud, certain Adrienne was going to pack up and head back to her tent. He looked over to where she was lying, intent on apologizing, asking her to stay, tell her that he meant nothing by it and saw her face close to his.

"Keep talking," she whispered.

"About what? Vala?" he asked, trying to back himself out of this mess, confused.

Why wasn't she leaving?

"The part after that," she said, making Daniel breathe out.

Was she torturing him just to harass him later?

"I'm tired Ad; I think that I'm gonna go to sleep," he said, starting to roll over and turn his back to her and she didn't stop him, she didn't say another word. Relieved, he sunk down onto his pillow and was just getting comfortable when he felt an arm slip around his waist.

Adrienne's arm.

He felt her pull her body close to his, snuggling up to his back.

"I think so too," she whispered, "that you're quite handsome. It's actually kind of distracting at times."

She could feel him laugh under her arm. It was just for a second and then he rolled back over, facing her, but not moving her away.

"That's the reason," he said to her quietly, reaching his palm to her face.

"What's the reason?" she asked, confused.

"The reason I was mean to you. Sam couldn't hire a man, or someone less skilled or attractive. She had to hire someone brilliant, kind and beautiful. If I hated you then I wouldn't think about how wonderful you were, are," he told her honestly. Smiling, blushing slightly in the starlight peering into the tent, Adrienne pulled her face closer to him and her body even close. He hesitated at first, but let himself slide nearer her as well, reaching his hand behind her back and pulling her lower body to his. She ran her bare, tattooed foot down his leg, and reached her leg around his calf, pulling their pelvises to meet. He felt himself start to harden at the contact, she smelled so good, her touch so soft. Adrienne giggled a bit, bringing her lips to his ear.

"Well hello," she teased, giggled some more, noticing his reaction.

Go for it Addy, she told herself, breathing in before continuing.

"May I?" she asked unable to believe her own words, but they were here, alone and obviously he was thinking the same thing.

"Sure," he answered forgetting himself in the moment. He felt her adjust herself slightly, sliding her arm from his side and to the front of his body, her palm slipping down the front of him and between his legs. He felt her squeeze him and his body react to the touch, harder, throbbing, god he wanted her.

She must have noticed too, because she started to rub and squeeze with a little more seduction and a little less caution. Hard as a rock, Daniel groaned out as he felt her hands move upward, away from his crotch and toward the waistband of his pants.

She was undoing the belt.

"Ad, maybe this isn't such a good idea," he said, pushing her hands away and she didn't fight him as he almost expected, simply pulling her curious fingers from him.

"Ok, that's fine, I understand," she replied quietly, so sweetly, reaching her hand back to his waist to start to cuddle with him again to go to sleep. She picked her head up for a second from where she had rested it on his chest, peering up at him, something else to say.

"Good night shug, and, well, just so you know, that is, uh, very nice," she choked out nervously and set her head back down.

Daniel thought he was going to explode.

He breathed in sharply, debating in his mind what to do.

How far he should let this go?

They were alone here and she seemed to want to be with him, be intimate with him and wasn't hurt or offended if he wasn't as ready. She was just that caring and compassionate person he had come to know.

Where did this woman come from?

Deciding to take a risk, he pushed her back and rolled over onto his side. He didn't say a word, just placed his palm on her face again, bringing it close to his in the dark, kissing her softly. She returned the kiss, opening her mouth to allow him to slip his tongue in and they kissed deeply and passionately there in the darkness for a while until finally they broke apart.

"I thought this was a bad idea," Adrienne whispered. Daniel shook his head, leaning in to kiss her lightly again.

"Not a bad idea, just not a good one. Maybe. But you've gotten me to the point that I don't care," he answered, deciding not to hold anything back. He felt her move to her lips again, smiling against them.

"Did I turn you on Daniel?" she asked, in a tone that he had never heard from her before; never had associated with her before. She was reaching for the waist of his pants again and this time, he let her.

She undid the top button, since he had left his belt unclasped and felt around for his zipper. It must have been driving him crazy, because she felt him tremble as she searched. She giggled again and found what she was looking for, the thin strip a metal shoved forward by his growing excitement. Adrienne pulled the zipper down slowly, feeling him push forward, out of his pants and towards her. Sliding her hand inside his loose BDU's carefully, she let her fingers wander, finding where she wanted, grasping him. She began to massage him gently through his boxers, slowly and teasingly, trying to make him insane.

It was working, instead of laying his head back and letting her explore, like he had done before, he had brought his head up again and was kissing and sucking lightly at her neck. She turned her head to meet his lips and kiss him again, slowly, passionately, while she let her hand go a little further, in search of the opening in his boxers. She found it easily and reached her fingers inside, gently, running them up and down his bare shaft. He shuddered again so Adrienne backed up.

"Too far?" she asked and he shook his head.

"No, it's just been too long. And gentle. Let's just say a lot of my experience has been dive right in and done," he whispered to her embarrassed making Adrienne kissed his lips lightly at his sweet words.

"Oh that's no fun. In that case, we can go as slow or fast as you would like, you just tell me what's ok," she answered.

Daniel was dying inside.

Why is this woman so perfect?

He brought his hand to her face, nuzzling close to her, wanting her to understand that this was so much more than...

"Are you sure? I just hate to ruin this," he said and Adrienne let out a sigh, shaking her head under his palm.

"Sure about what, having fun in this tent? I'm fine with that; I've kinda fallen for you, against my better judgement," she paused like she was nervous. He reached to pull her into a loose embrace again, rubbing his hand down her back.

"Well then I guess that makes two of us then. You're not like any woman that I've ever met," he admitted, kissing her again in the dark. She returned the kiss, lightly.

"I hope that's a compliment," she said.

"It is," he assured her, kissing her again. They let their lips speak, kissing deeply again, feelings of passion arising greater in both of them. Adrienne reached behind Daniel, sliding her hands again into the waistband of his boxers, beginning to pull both pants and underwear down his legs. He laughed a bit, but helped her, pausing their kissing for just a moment to reach down and slide off his boots and socks and then shift his hips to pull down his pants. Adrienne smiled, knowing what he was doing and reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, tossing the garment behind them and brought her body close to his.

She felt him kick his pants aside and return to her.

"Wait," he said, now naked and embracing her, "this isn't very equitable." She laughed lightly.

"You're the one keeping your hands to yourself, not me," she taunted. He took that as an invitation, slipping his hands onto her stomach gently and pulling her tank top over her head. He reached back to remove her sports bra and noticed she wasn't wearing one.

How had he not noticed that?

He did now, and that alone was driving him crazy, so he crawled his body gently on top of her, letting his hand roam across her breasts. She let out a sigh, so he squeezed her once more and began to kiss her neck again, slowly, working his way down her collarbone, to her shoulders and down to her chest, running his tongue around her nipple as she arched her back.

She was so unlike herself right now, vulnerable, and he wanted to see her more vulnerable to his touch.

He left her chest and began to kiss down her stomach, slowly, working his way to the hem of her yoga pants. The lower he went, the more she gasped out and he could feel her stomach tremble underneath of him.

He was gonna enjoy this.

He reached her pants and started to peel them off slowly, kissing each patch of skin as it was exposed, grabbing panties and everything as he pulled downward. She was moaning lightly, just at the anticipation, so he decided to tease her further. Sitting up on his knees and removing her pants completely, Daniel tossed them aside, returning his lips to her ankle and kissing his way slowly up her leg.

She smelled and tasted lightly of cherry lotion.

He kissed his way past her knees and up the inside of her thigh, as she parted her legs to allow him but when he reached her, he stopped kissing, running his fingers lightly at her inner thigh.

He felt her laugh.

"For someone claiming a lack of much experience you're kinda driving me insane," she joked, in between moans of bliss, Daniel laughing in response.

"Just because you haven't tried it or haven't done it in a while doesn't mean you haven't imagined it," he answered, running his fingers lightly again in the direction of her warmth. He kissed her hips gently and slid his fingers into her, feeling her contract around him and grow wetter.

She moaned out again.

Carefully watching her body movements, he slid his fingers in and out of her, teasing her and preparing her. He wanted to be inside of her so badly so badly he was aching, and it was quite obvious that she wanted him inside of her too. He started to kiss down lower but felt her reach for his shoulders to guide him back up. Confused, he stopped his kisses, peering up at her.

"Come back," she said quietly, guiding him as he moved up her body once more. He felt her hands reach under, grasping him, squeezing and pulling. He didn't need her coaxing; he was ready. He placed his hands on either side of her shoulder, positioning himself between her legs as she reached up and kissed his lips gently. He didn't say a word, just guided himself into her. She moaned loudly as he penetrated her and began to react immediately to his thrust, arching her hips and reaching out to grab his, moving lightly. He was momentarily surprised by this reaction, used to a more submissive female response, but this was Adrienne, he shouldn't have been surprised. Smiling, he picked up his pace to match the one she was creating. He thrust in and out of her steadily and she matched him, arching her back and clenching him. They were completely enthralled in pleasure, enjoying the contact of one another's bodies when Daniel finally realized what was happening, slowing down his pace, Adrienne gazing at him in bewilderment.

"What's wrong?" she asked, reaching up for him, setting her palms against his chest, as he breathed out, shaking his head.

"I can't believe this; any of this. What are we doing?" he asked her, still aroused and inside of her but frightened. She moved her hands, running them lightly across his shoulders and down his arms, giving him chills. When she got to his elbows and reached behind his back, pulling him onto her entirely.

"We're making love, at least, that's what I'm doing," she said, hoping his answer would be the same. His heart racing, not just from the activity but her words as well, he smiled down at her.

"Really?" he asked, still unsure. She clenched herself around him to keep him with her, nodding her head as she did so.

"Yes Daniel. I'm not one to jump into bed with someone. I really do love you," she whispered, her heart racing, worried about his reaction. Reassured, he smiled again and began to thrust once more, slowly and gently. She rested her head back and let herself enjoy the slow love making, allowing him do the work. He pushed into her slowly and then just as slow pulled himself out of her. The sensation was driving her wild and she wanted to let herself go, but didn't want to be selfish. Reaching her hands out, she pushed his chest away, Daniel's face again frowning in confusion.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, starting to pull away making her laugh.

"Oh god no, but you're really good at this and I'm trying not to end our fun too soon," she teased, still giggling lightly. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Let's switch then, some other position," he suggested, hoping she wouldn't be upset at his idea. He felt her palm to his cheek and she kissed him lightly.

"Get on your back," she requested and he pulled away and out of her, sliding down where he had been laying before. She crawled to straddle him, high on her knees in order to grab him and slide back onto him. Grabbing him, she led him to her entrance, pushing down to take him inside of her. He moaned loudly underneath of her waist when she leaned over to kiss him again and offer him an option.

"Fast or slow?" she asked. He kissed her passionately before responding and nibbled her lip as she backed away.

"I get to choose," he replied, debating his options, "I'm not sure that happens often." Adrienne shrugged.

"We're close, I thought it would be fun to, well, explore a bit," she said. He kissed his way over to her ear.

"Surprise me," he said. Mischief in her eyes, Adrienne sat upright and began to rock her hips back and forth rapidly, flicking them as she moved. She felt him grab onto her and heard him mutter.

"Oh dear god," he said, holding onto her hips and pushing her down onto him as she rocked wildly against his pelvis. She kept this up for a while, listening to him moan out and feeling him paw her frantically.

And then she stopped.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she was on it, sliding her tongue in as she brought her chest to his, arching up her back and sliding on and off of him, slowly, clenching him tightly as she pushed back down. She was upright again and ground down low, only to lean forward and repeat. She did this again and again until she felt him push her off and onto the floor of the tent.

"What are you doing?" she asked, laughing, anticipating his answer.

"I'm going to explode, so you needed to stop that," he replied, crawling over to where she lay. She cuddled to him, reaching for him again, caressing him to keep him ready and kissed his nose.

"How adventurous have you been in the past?" she whispered.

"You just got it," he answered honestly, wondering what she had up her sleeve. She kissed his neck and let go of him, crawling onto her knees, turning to look over her shoulder.

"Come on Indy," she said, cocking her head to order him over. He took a breath, realizing she wanted him from behind. Unable to believe, again, that this was happening, he got to his knees and crawled over to comply. When he reached her, he felt around to find her entrance once more and pushed himself inside, holding onto her hips. She threw back her head and shouted out, making him glad they were in this tent, alone for miles.

Alone for miles, he thought to himself, we can keep this up all night long.

That made him increase his thrust and his grip onto her hips.

"Oh Daniel!" Adrienne screamed out, now bent over onto her elbows and panting into her arms, "Don't stop. Harder!" she was screaming full force into the tent. He was surprised she liked this, he didn't think this was a position that women were fond of, but apparently Adrienne was. He did as she asked, pulling out quickly and jamming himself into her, squeezing her hips so hard he was certain he must be bruising them but she didn't seem to care. The friction was driving him wild, coupled with her squeezing and bucking he thought he was going to erupt inside of her with no warning at all. She moaned out again and began to shout Daniel almost ready to let go himself.

"Sit back, sit back on your legs," she said. Daniel was following her completely this time and did as she asked thankful to calm himself a bit, sitting back onto his legs and pulling her with him, leaving himself inside of her, not breaking their connection for a moment. Breathing heavily, Adrienne leaned her head back on his shoulder.

"Touch me," she asked quietly. He wrapped his arms around her, running his hands slowly along her breasts as she rocked in his lap, squeezing him inside of her as she moved. He felt her reach for one of his hands and guide it between her legs, silently requested his touch elsewhere. He let her, and once he felt beneath his fingers where she wanted him to go, he began to rub her lightly, feeling the tiny hardness that she desired him to feel. She began to moan again and then pulled away.

"Dammit Daniel," she swore and him, detaching and turning around to face him, "why do you get me going so fast?" He smiled and kissed her slowly.

"Because I'm that good," he tried, laughing at his own comment as he crawled forward and kissed at her neck seductively, working his way to her ear.

"I've been trying here, I really have, but I'm not gonna last much longer, I just wanted to warn you. I might be alright later, but I'm so close to exploding right now. YOU are going to make me explode," he added, the last part for her benefit. This felt so good, it all felt so good and he wanted Adrienne to know that she was making him feel this way. This was love making like he had never experienced before; they were so alone, so intimate, so close. She was reading his body, reading his signals, paying so much attention to him that it was wonderful.

He could make love to her forever.

He kissed her cheek again and took her into his arms, laying her gently onto her back still holding her, slipping inside of her once more. She whimpered against his shoulder as he entered her and slipped himself in and out of her slowly. Letting out a groan and he felt her clench him tight, not the way she had been clenching to tease him before, but clenching him hard and not releasing.

She must be close.

He picked up his pace and angled her a bit higher in his arms just as she was wrapping her legs around him, locking her feet in place. He thrust again and felt himself begin to release, unable to control it any longer. Pushing further into her, he brought his head down close to hers, moaning and grunting as his seed poured out of his body. She was whimpering gently and clenching him so tightly when suddenly he felt her pull at his back and shout his name. His body in ecstasy, he pushed in harder as the sensation climaxed inside of him. He was at his peak and forced himself into her, harder and faster as she screamed out his name and held tight to his shoulders.

And then it was over.

Daniel, caked in sweat, looked down to see he was holding Adrienne in his arms, her eyes locked onto his.

Reality set in as to what they had done.

They were dead.

Daniel didn't care.

He kissed her softly and laid her down gently, sliding over beside her and reaching for her sleeping bag to unzip it and make them a blanket. Covering them lightly and laid down beside her, rolling to face her.

"Come here," he whispered, reaching out his arms and she scooted backwards into them without protest. He kissed her ear once she was close enough, nuzzling her lightly.

"Can I hold you? While we sleep?" he asked cautiously trying to gauge her reaction to this reality.

"I'd like that," she answered him. He kissed her once more and held her as he let himself fall to sleep.

Adrienne awoke the next morning to sunlight. It seemed he had turned off the alarm, but she wasn't totally surprised. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and brushing her hair back with her fingers, turning to see if he was up yet.

And he was gone.

Adrienne panicked for a second. She looked around and noticed he had packed everything up. Everything.

"DANIEL!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, fearing he had gotten up without her and done something stupid. She scrambled over to the tent flap. She started up unzip the door when it unzipped in front of her and Daniel was looking right at her.

"Panic much?" he asked, smiling, watching her struggled to cover herself with the sleeping bad. Frowning, she wrapped it around her torso, trying to form words.

"I was worried, after last night..." she started, beginning to feel stupid already.

"What, that I would just make love to you and then leave?," he stated and Adrienne shook her head.

"Ok, so, stupid, alright. What were you doing?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Cleaning up our mess. We left it out, remember?" he responded like she was an idiot. She cut her eyes at him.

"You stubborn ass, why didn't you wake me up, I could have helped," she fussed.

"I tried to wake you up, you swore at me," Daniel said, Adrienne feeling confused.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, your exact words were, "Go to hell Sam Merlotte, I have today off," Daniel said, laughing, watching her face grow redder.

"Sam's Sookie's boss, I don't know if you remember. That is pretty funny actually," she said, beginning to laugh.

Daniel shook his head.

"Well, I have everything down except for this, so if you are up we can get this down and get going," he said. Adrienne grabbed her back and got to her knees rolling up her sleeping bag.

They were packed and ready to go in about 30 minutes, hoisting their gear over their shoulders and headed for home. Adrienne started to head for the gate but felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to see what Daniel needed.

"Adrienne, I owe you an apology," he said.

"Apology, for what?" Adrienne asked, confused.

"For last night, I was a creep," Daniel admitted.

"How so? We slept together, I mean, I was willing," she said, again wanting to change the subject. This morning was feeling awkward enough as it was but Daniel just approached her, setting his palm on her cheek.

"I didn't tell you last night that I love you too. I was too wrapped up in everything, but I need to tell you that I love you too. Last night was wonderful. Not just the sex, but talking and just being with someone with no worries. No ulterior motives, no secrets. You are so perfect, so wonderful, I just," Daniel was explaining when Adrienne simply threw her arms around his shoulders, kissing him full on the mouth. They kissed for a moment and broke away, their foreheads touching.

"You're everything I ever dreamed of," he whispered, "I don't want last night to just be a one-time thing." Adrienne laughed.

"So, Dr. Jackson likes sex does he, just like normal folks?" she teased, but she knew what he meant. He shook his head, knowing her jokes well enough now and reached over, intertwining his fingers with her, setting out for the gate together.

Sam was at the base of the ramp waiting for them, her face furrowed in contrast to her overall loveliness in her general's attire.

"Anything?" she asked, hands on her hips looking like she had been hit with a ton in the short time they had been gone. After this disappointment, Daniel didn't even want to know.

"Nope. I think it might have been planted," he replied and Sam shook her head, reaching to her face to squeeze her temples.

"Alright, well, we got word from Jonas last night that we need to send a representative right away to speak to their council on behalf of Earth. There are some important debates regarding trade with other worlds this week in the Senate and..." she trailed, seeing something in his face that she didn't like.

"I'm the lucky representative," Daniel concluded, pushing his glasses up his face, "Can I shower and repack?"

Sam smiled; she could always count on Daniel, even if he had just gotten back from what looked like an unsuccessful personal mission. Her brain already working through a week or so without him, she glanced over at Adrienne, ready to assign her a task as well.

"Lab is yours for the week Addy, but I'm gonna let Vala work with you so that you're not totally abandoned," Sam said, "And I expect you ladies to behave." Daniel made a face, but said nothing as Sam redirected her attention to him.

"We need you ready to leave at 1600 hours," she requested and he nodded, turning quickly to leave, indicating for Adrienne to follow. She did, but he waited until they were out of hearing distance to lean over, ready to assign a few tasks of his own.

"Send her on lots of errands. Don't let her near my desk. She has no clue what goes on down there," Daniel hissed, his eyes making sure Sam, or more importantly, Vala, were not standing there, ready to jump down his throat.

"No worries; I was already thinking of things to keep her busy," she responded. Daniel nodded appreciatively, figuring he shouldn't have underestimated his Robin. Running a mental to do list through his head, he barely stopped as they reached the elevators, clueing back into his surroundings, glancing down at her.

"I'm gonna head to the lab after I shower to grab a few things but I'd like to go over some stuff with you that you'll need to know while I'm gone if you don't mind hanging around a while longer," he said, as he hit the button to go up to his quarters to shower and repack. Having anticipated that very request, Adrienne nodded her head.

"Not at all; I was actually going to rush down and Vala-proof the place before Sam informs her of her assignment this week," Adrienne joked, but Daniel just smiled and nodded in response. Taking that as her cue, Adrienne turned to go down to the lab when she felt a hand on her shoulder, pausing and peeking back to see what else he wanted.

"Do you want to go get dinner or something before I leave?" he asked, slowly, still unsure about all of this.

"Like a date?" she asked, smiling.

"Yes, like at date," he answered but the moment the words crossed his lips, she leaned forward and kissed him, not caring who could possibly see.

"I would too. Go shower, change, I'm gonna do the same. I'll see you in a few," she said backing away.

"I love you Adrienne," Daniel said, surprising himself. She smiled.

"I love you too," she replied and headed down to the lab.


	4. Chapter 4 - Erotic Alternate to Omens

_I HOPE we got all of the spelling mistakes, but remember my profile - LATE nights post Kiddos LOL. _

_Just an adventure._

_Enjoy! _

Daniel arrived back from his meeting, Adrienne nowhere to be found. Her meeting must have gone longer, her daily update to Sam and Robert Woolsey as to the progress made on the database in his absence this week, and he could only imagine the future swearing she would be doing. The image made him laugh and he noted that he needed to pull up that website with the Cajun swears to try to keep up.

When he walked over to his desk, glad to be out of yet another stupid strategy meeting and back where he needed to be, researching, he noticed a red box sitting here, one of those pre-made gift boxes, minus the cheesy bow. Confused, he made a face as he opened it, wondering where it had come from and hoping it was nothing that would literally blow up in his face, which considering his history at the SGC, wouldn't be that unusual. Instead, as he slowly pulled the lid off of the box, he discovered that it was stuffed with tissue paper, a small piece of thick white paper neatly folded on top. Grabbing the note, a small part of him still worried that the box might explode, he opened the creases carefully, peering down at the message inside.

_Missed you last week; lab's too quiet when you're off-world. _

_Saw these and thought of you... hee hee_

_-Ad_

Ad? What an odd way to sign a note, he thought, recalling that he had never heard her or anyone else refer to her as Ad, always Addy or Adrienne.

Wonder why that is?

Pausing for a moment to imagine what madness was inside the box, this very nice box and this very strange note, Daniel couldn't help but be touched by the gesture.

What in the world would make her think of him?

Whatever it was he was touched; it was a nice gesture and he had to admit that he had missed her too last week, more than he had expected. He had grown used to her bad jokes, constant movie references and general silliness besides the relief of having someone there who spoke to him on his level. It made some of the more boring aspects of the job bearable. He was just starting to pull back the tissue paper to reveal his surprise when the phone rang. Making a face, he unwillingly left the box, walking over and grabbing the receiver.

"Jackson," he answered.

"Daniel, need you up here, as soon as you can" it was Sam, her voice short and troubled.

"Anything wrong?" he asked, one eye still staring at the box, curiosity eating away at him. What did she get him?

"Just time to pack up and go again. Strep throat in SG-2," she replied, Daniel recognizing the tone in her voice as annoyance rather than concern.

"Fantastic," he answered sarcastically, still gazing at his gift, "but I'm missing my trusty side kick." He surprised himself with that comment; he hadn't really joked like that with Sam before, yes, she knew that he and Adrienne were getting along now, but not to the extent that they were.

Sam giggled, "No, I grabbed her out of her meeting already and she's quite pleased to have beaten you somewhere for once." Daniel smiled. Adrienne couldn't be anywhere on time if her life depended on it, so he could only imagine her face and her mini celebration as she was finally able to make it to any kind of meeting before him.

"I'll be right there," he replied and hung up the phone, walking over to the mysterious box on his desk.

"And you I'll have to save for later," he spoke, addressing the brightly decorated inanimate object in front of him. Placing the note back inside, stuffing the paper down and replacing the lid, Daniel reluctantly headed for the briefing room.

He was the last to arrive and as he turned the corner and saw Adrienne, who was sitting between Cameron and Teal'c mouthing to him "_You are late," _ a huge smile plastered across her face. He rolled his eyes and went to the head of the table where Sam had placed a folder at an empty seat, a seat beside which was Vala, a look similar to the one on Adrienne's face. Daniel cut a glare over at Adrienne, knowing this was her doing as well. It seemed the better friends they were, the worse she harassed him and greater she relished in it.

He made a note to himself to get her back later.

"Ok, thankfully you're all familiar with P5L-325, so I hope to be brief," Sam began handing out the file folders to the rest of the table as Daniel took his seat. Glancing at the file already placed in front of him, Daniel opened it to try to remember which planet they were talking about, his brain still back in finance meetings, strategy meetings and senate meetings on Langara. He had prepared the entire work-up on this planet and had every intention of going until he was called away and the mission was handed over to SG-2. Now it looked as though plans had changed, again, something he should be used to.

"This is a standard follow up to the MALP information. Society, Daniel has determined, is much like the Yoruba of 13th century Africa. Daniel would you like to elaborate?" Sam began, glancing in his direction to turn the meeting over to him.

His forehead furrowed, Daniel stood and looked over at Adrienne, who was already opening up her iPad, thankfully having saved their pre-lims from a few weeks back. Tapping around on the shiny screen, longer than he expected and for a moment making him worry that she had deleted the file, she finally peeked up at him and gave him the thumbs up. He was glad she had kept a copy of the presentation, that she seemed to keep a copy of everything. Looking back at the Smartboard and hoping Adrienne would control the slides, Daniel faced his team and began to speak.

"The Yoruba people of Earth Africa are the largest tribal ethnic group, living mainly in the country known as Nigeria. In their early history they functioned as a monarchial society made up of various city-states who were ruled by governors related to the royal family. Religiously they are polytheistic monotheists, similar to the later Romans, where there is one supreme God, Olodumare, in charge of the other gods, who are regarded more like angels in Christianity. That is why it was so easy here on Earth to convert the Yoruba to Christianity and Islam; they were practicing a religion similar to it already. They live in grass huts, mostly due to the heat, and tend to remain in one area until the resources are exhausted," Daniel was pleased that the group seemed to be listening, even Vala, who was remaining quiet, her eyes locked on the slides. Reading the pause, Adrienne changed the slide behind him, from a picture of their home world to a picture of the people they were to meet.

"These people refer to themselves as the Parakoyi, which in our Yoruba language is the word for traders. If that proves to be the case, these people could be powerful allies considering the MALP has sent us a long list of resources, including Naquada, that they are not using and could be encouraged to trade for," Daniel continued as Adrienne flipped to the slide showing two men in tribal attire. That was something else he had missed in Langara, he noted to himself, competent help in his tasks. Knowing his assistant had the visuals covered, he pointed back at the image and kept going.

"Politeness is of the utmost importance," he stressed the word utmost, not even trying to hide his glare at Vala, "Men are going bow to older men or nod their head to men of a similar age, women are going to kneel on one knee typically. You must smile at all times and greet everyone you pass. Don't think that these are unfriendly people; they are not. In fact, if they are like the Yoruba of Earth, they will be one of the nicest and most accepting peoples we will ever encounter," Daniel concluded, taking his seat to relinquish attention to Sam once more, who stood and moved over to the projector.

"Pretty cut and dry people. Standard go in and meet and greet. I'm setting our departure for 1400, so you've got most of the morning to get ready. That's all I have for you. Cam, can you hang back a sec," Sam said and began collecting her extra folders, flipping the switch on the projector killing the power. Cameron looked over at Teal'c and Adrienne and shrugged, not seeming to know what was going on any more than they did, getting up from his chair and following Sam to her office.

Working on a deadline now, the rest of the group, along with Adrienne, got up and left to get ready. Last minute or not, Adrienne wasn't going to protest for one minute that she was being allowed to accompany Daniel on yet another mission.

Adrienne deliberately slowed her step so Daniel would catch up, as usual nose deep in the information, his mind already on the planet ahead of them.

"How's Jonas?" she asked as he read through the planet file again.

"Good, same old mess. I'm not sure if they'll ever trust us fully again, but all we can do is try," Daniel replied, not looking up.

"Well, how was your week? What's the night life like on Langara? Meet any hot chicks?" Adrienne smiled, trying to be funny. Catching on to her joke, Daniel glanced up from the folder, finally acknowledging her visually. She might be kidding, but she was sincere in her first question; in getting to know Adrienne he had discovered that she really did care about her friends' well-being, him included.

"Boring, absolutely boring, and that's true even if I was able to get out. Plus I had to wear a suit the entire time," he complained, closing the folder to talk to her.

"You look handsome in a suit," Adrienne said with a smile, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way.

"Thanks," he replied, a little shiver going through him for a reason he couldn't explain, as Cameron came dashing down the hall, interrupting their conversation, excited and giddy like a small child. Adrienne looked over at him, a part of her face Daniel thought appearing annoyed by the intrusion, silently pleasing Daniel.

"Did you get in trouble with the boss lady?" she asked, a forced playfulness in her tone. I guess she did miss me, Daniel considered, flattered beyond words.

"Nah, just not going on this one. I get to go play with the Daedalus while you guys get to play in the sand," Cameron smiled.

"Nice, whatcha gonna do?" Adrienne inquired, the tone now changing to curiosity.

Oh well, so much for that, Daniel thought, maybe she didn't miss me so much.

"Test out some moves on the ole girl, evasive maneuvers. See if the thing can still get moving when it needs to," Cameron answered.

"So, is Sam replacing you on the mission?" Daniel asked, not trying to be rude but more concerned about brains outnumbering brawn and also wanting in on this conversation. Not that he and Adrienne couldn't take care of themselves, and he most certainly knew that Adrienne could take care of herself from very painful first-hand experience, but he would just rather not have to worry about that.

"Yeah, you guys get Ronon looks like, geeks and aliens on this one," Cameron replied, smiling and bid them farewell, almost skipping toward the transport bay to be beamed up to the ship. Shaking her head, an action Daniel knew he was trying to read way too much into, Adrienne looked back at her boss, slowly walking backward toward the elevators.

"Ok Indy, I'm gonna go pack and swing by the commissary for some bottled waters, you want anything?" Adrienne offered, stopping to tap the button heading up to the mess and the living quarters.

"No thanks, I think I just need to get my bag from the lab and I'll be ready to go," he responded, his mind back on the mission and a list of things that he needed to pack himself.

"Alright, catch you later," she turned to go, the elevators doors starting to open, her curvy brunette figure slipping inside.

"Ad!" Daniel shouted out, using the nickname she had written on the note without realizing it. The doors were closing when a hand reached between them activating the emergency stop, opening quickly to her deep cocoa eyes and devilish grin.

"Yes..." she said, a wily look in her eyes like she knew what he was going to say. Of course she did; he had called her Ad and that must have been intentional on her part.

"What's in the box?" he asked, the smile disappearing quickly, replaced by a frown from inside the elevator.

"You have to open it. Did you open it?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip while the other held down the open door button.

"No, I got interrupted by Sam's call," Daniel explained. Shaking her head, but smiling again, Adrienne released the button, the doors again bouncing back to life.

"Well, you'll just have to go and open it," she replied, laughing as the doors closed in front of her face, encasing her in her escape. So, we are at the point of gifts in our little friendship, he thought to himself, planning to return to the box as soon as he got back, his inquisitive nature getting the best of him.

What madness was she up to?

When he arrived, however, the phone was already ringing, someone in another department needing a file and then Vala came down about five times to ask what gear exactly would keep sand from getting underneath her clothes like it had during her last mission to a desert planet, all the while Daniel kept looking over at the box, wondering what Adrienne had put inside.

It was driving him crazy.

Before long he looked up at the clock over the door and realized it was time to go and he accepted the fact, grudgingly, that he wouldn't get to open the present until they returned, tossing his bag over his shoulder and heading for the gate room. He was the first to arrive as usual, so he patiently waited for the remainder of the team to arrive as well, rereading the file and trying to shut out the image of the red cube of mystery that was sitting so teasingly on his desk.

Ronon and Teal'c entered together, discussing some crazy competition the two of them had come up with, as was becoming their normal being stationed together. Daniel knew it would be something wild, it always was, and it was always something that John Sheppard could run odds on. Sam only tolerated it because Jack enjoyed actively participating in betting in such contests. Vala came sauntering in shortly after, a purple scarf wrapped around her face tightly and she looked absolutely ridiculous, so much so that Daniel couldn't refrain from comment.

"It's not windy there; I've seen the video footage. I think you're overdoing it," he informed her as she walked over to him, refraining from mocking the color and hideous floral pattern on said scarf.

"We'll see who's choking on what when we arrive," she responded from underneath the fabric and Daniel just shook his head, giving up on arguing with her. Seeing most of the team arrive, Walter had begun to dial the gate, the wormhole forming and blasting a surge of cool, energy charged air into the room. Worried, especially as the team began to run a final equipment check, Daniel glanced back at the door.

No Adrienne.

It was genuinely physically impossible for the woman to be on time and he was back to wondering how New Orleans even functioned with an entire population of Adrienne Rowans. Suddenly, an evil thought popped into his head, he owed her for the seating arrangement at the briefing anyway, dashing over to the intercom system, hitting the button for an all call.

"Paging Dr. Rowan to the gate room. If she doesn't get here in ten seconds she's gonna be left," he said as calmly as he could, trying not to laugh into the mic and hanging the intercom back up into its hanger on the wall. His eyes cutting over at the door quickly, his assistant still nowhere to be seen, Daniel turned to follow Teal'c and company through the gate. It seemed they weren't waiting for Adrienne either, and he was starting to worry about her when he heard shouting from behind him.

"You're a turd!" she was yelling, running toward him, staff weapon in hand, "I had to go get this from my room."

"You had to bring that?!" he asked, raising his eyebrows, a million sarcastic comments popping into his head.

"Yes, you know I don't like bullets. And Teal'c says I am good with it," she defended, turning his shoulder and pushing onto his back moving him through the gate before he could torment her any longer. Worth it, he thought to himself, wishing he had a camera for the look on her face when she came racing in calling him names.

The wind was whipping wildly when they reached the other side, throwing sand and debris all around, catching both archaeologists off guard as the event horizon closed behind them. Not having any other option for protecting herself from the onslaught of nature, Adrienne buried her face into Daniel's back, Vala's voice clear as she was shouting from the bottom of the platform.

"Ha! I was right! And I'm not eating sand!" she screamed back at Daniel, covering her face again in that stupid scarf, turning on her heels to walk toward the village. Ronon and Teal'c reached into their vests to pull out small pieces of fabric that looked like handkerchiefs to put over their mouths, moving onward behind her while Daniel just moved his hat to cover his face. Protected, he glanced down at Adrienne to see what she had, but she was digging, holding her breath to keep the sand out of her throat, seeming to have nothing in her pack nor her tack vest.

"You want this?" he offered his hat, uncovering his face for just a moment, trying not to choke on the few grains of sand that managed to make an entrance past his lips.

"Nah, it's ok, I'll just walk behind you," she answered, frustrated.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, choking on the blowing sand, one eye gazing in the direction of his friends who were a good fifty yards ahead already. He made a face at Adrienne, covering his mouth again with the old green hat.

"Yea," she grumbled, grabbing his arm, turning him and burying her face into it. Carefully, Daniel led the pair down the platform and toward the group, stopping only to wonder if the MALP information regarding the weather had been incorrect what else might be there to surprise them. Fortunately the wind died down rather quickly, but Vala was going to relish in her little victory the entire way there, a celebration that Daniel was not looking forward to, the smirk on her face as she removed the scarf giving him the headache in advance.

The village was about a 45 minute walk from the gate, through tall grasses and a terrain that like the slides had shown them was, very similar to the country of Nigeria back home. Time passed quickly, the team laughing and chatting as they walked, Vala making fun of Daniel for not being prepared, and before they knew it the first tinges of civilization were only yards ahead. Daniel, from his position at the front of the group, could see the outline of a rather complex grass hut village peeking over the horizon and could hear shouting as they approached a large crowd of people tending to their daily chores on the outskirts of the village.

"Jaffa! Jaffa!" they were crying, people scurrying away from them rather than towards the group making him panic that there was something else he had forgotten.

"No, no!" he yelled out, running ahead, opening the folder, trying to figure out how to say friend in Yoruba, a language for once that he didn't know. A few men rushed their group, spears pointed, while other villagers cowered in fear. The scene was mass chaos for a moment, Daniel flipping quickly through the folder trying to see if there was something else he needed to know when greeting these people when a throat cleared, causing him to look up. Approaching them was an older man, the one from the MALP video Daniel thought, that seemed to be in charge, bowing low. Relieved, Daniel tucked the folder at his side and bowed in return, signaling for the rest of the group to do the same. Remembering the prep information, Adrienne dropped to one knee, pulling Vala to join her.

"Ow Addy! What are you doing?" Vala hissed, glaring over at her friend.

"One knee Vala, weren't you listening this morning?" Adrienne spat in return as Vala rolled her eyes at the assumption that she hadn't been listening. She had, she was just a little taken aback by men charging her armed with spears. From her squat on the ground beside a lightly grumbling Vala, Adrienne thought she heard the man say something in a language that she didn't speak, end his sentence with a hiss of the word Jaffa, an undertone of anger in the voice. Peeking up, she saw him pointing to Teal'c and to her, glancing back over at his shoulder, the men behind him tightening their grasp. It was the staff weapons, she concluded, they must have been afraid of the staff weapons. Standing quickly, Adrienne lifted her shirt, showing her bare and worm free stomach.

"No Jaffa" she said and Daniel rose turning to look at her, having come to the same conclusion as she. He nodded, finding what he was looking for in the folder, glancing over at Teal'c.

"Oremi," Daniel said, pointing to Teal'c, shaking his head in the affirmative. The man in the heavily beaded robes made a confused face at Daniel, signaling his men to drop their weapons and returning to his scan of the people assembled before him.

"You carry their weapons. Do you speak the language of the Jaffa as well?" he asked and Adrienne breathed out. Thank god for English, she thought, since they never seemed to be going anywhere that actually spoke any of her dozen or so tongues.

"Yes," Daniel answered, "we are explorers. I am Dr. Daniel Jackson and these are my friends Teal'c, Ronon Dex, Vala Mal Doran and Dr. Adrienne Rowan. We came through the chapa'ai."

"We will give no more women to the gods. Our village has suffered enough," the man stood strong to face Daniel, who was already putting up his hands to indicate that their team had no intention of taking anyone.

"No, you misunderstand. We are here to meet you and form a friendship. We do not need anything from you. The gods, the Goa'uld are gone," Daniel said, treading lightly, knowing that some cultures still did not fare well with this news. His facial expression quickly changing, the man began to laugh loudly, nodding his head. Not being the reaction he expected, Daniel looked at his friends worried and confused.

"Hahaha!" the man laughed louder, "the gods are gone! Some gods! Some all-powerful gods!" At the sound of the man's celebration, sarcasm, it was hard to be sure which, Teal'c slowly began to rise to his feet, as did Ronon and Vala, looking at one another equally as puzzled.

"Yes," Daniel continued, "they were false gods and were using you and your people."

The man slowed his laughter, scanning the group carefully once more. He was dressed as the men on Adrienne's slides and from the MALP video, wearing a long flaxen robe over an equally drab tunic, however, both garments were decorated with handmade beads in deep reds and ocean blues. He seemed to have many more ornaments than the men surrounding him, signifying his importance. His feet were bare and tough, as they should be for a man who spent so much time wandering the desert, but his eyes were what caught Adrienne's attention, his wise eyes. This man knew what the Goa'uld were, he understood that they were false gods and this news wasn't shocking to him in the least, simply an affirmation of what he already knew. Smiling gently at his visitors, the man took a step forward, addressing Daniel directly.

"By whose hand are they gone?" he asked, a question Daniel seemed to be anticipating. He opened his mouth to speak, intent on explaining the situation exactly as he coached SG-2 into explaining it when Vala spoke up from beside Adrienne.

"We did, we blasted the bastards out of the galaxy," she replied, gun in hand, tapping it lightly in her open palm. Great first impression, Daniel thought, and I accuse Adrienne of trying to be macho. Seemingly unimpressed as well, Adrienne looked over at her friend, rolling her eyes.

"Then friends you are!" the man exclaimed, Daniel trying to hold the outward expression of relief that he was feeling inside since thankfully the man seemed to appreciate Vala's outburst. Nevertheless, Daniel shot Vala an angry glance warning her with his eyes to not speak again. Catching the wave of ice shot in her direction, she leaned over to Adrienne, annoyed and scowling.

"Can't you go calm him down or something?" she whispered, cutting her own brown eyes down at her shorter friend.

"I'm his assistant, not his keeper," Adrienne replied, shrugging, her gaze back at Daniel who was already speaking with the man, folder open, pointing to charts and various things that he and Adrienne had researched via the MALP weeks ago.

"No, but he likes you best," Vala winked in reply, giving her a look. Ignoring the smart mouthed alien, Adrienne just walked along trying to catch up with Daniel and the village leader, eager to get to work. Vala had been acting just a tad jealous now that Daniel and Adrienne were friends and Adrienne had tried to blow it off; she wasn't interested in Daniel any more than he was interested in her. They were just friends and it was nice to have someone to talk to that thought like her, something Adrienne hadn't had in a very long time. Her family was kind, but she never felt like one of them, she felt like her father was the only person in the world she could ever relate to, ever talk to and have an intellectual conversation with. Romantically though, that was the last thing Adrienne was thinking about, the last thing she ever thought about, no desire to become any man's brood mare, so in that department, Vala was welcome to him.

That, and the fact that she got crazy nervous when Vala talked like that, which was just stupid because it was Daniel she was talking about and he was older and her boss and her buddy and...

Stop, she ordered herself, adjusting her jacket as she came to a stop beside Daniel.

Okulo, or teacher, was the man's name she caught as she butt into the conversation. Adrienne found that particularly interesting as one of the few members of the staff that had classroom experience; she could appreciate anyone who acted as a teacher in any capacity. On the way to the settlement, Adrienne following close at Daniel's heels, Okulo told them about their village, how they earned their livelihood and the various resources they would be willing to trade. It seemed that the villagers earned their way through life in one of three ways, farming, the raising of animals or acting as a merchant. He also listed an abundance of resources, a kind of wheat crop that was resistant to most weather conditions and pests, a variety of precious metals including sterling silver and of course Naquadah. Rather than be cautious of his new visitors, the man seemed to be overjoyed to have visitors at all and the possibility of a new trading partner.

Apparently Daniel was right, this was a clear win for the SGC.

Adrienne would have to pick on him later.

She both loved and hated it when he was right, but either way she could always find a way to pick on him, tormenting Daniel had become her new pastime.

Taking in their surroundings, Adrienne was pleased by the thoroughness of their research, being that the village itself looked just like the pictures from the slide show, grass huts, set up in rows of sorts, creating dirt roads. It was a miniature town, bustling with activity. Where yards would have been, there were animal pens, housing small creatures that looked like pigs, save for green horns perched prominently on their noses and trickling down their spines. When at last they reached what appeared to be the center of the village where some villagers were gathered around a central fountain, retrieving water and talking to one another as they went about their day, Okulo left them with a few women who were chatting there. They were women who Adrienne assumed were his wives given his open affection towards them just before the leader excused himself claiming to have other business to attend to, promising to see them later tonight at dinner. Taking in the sights and sounds of this primitive metropolis, Adrienne was startled when Daniel grabbed her arm, turning to face him, her fist cocked by her cheek. A few months ago he would have flinched, but now he just laughed at her reaction.

"Hey, do you want to come with me Chuck Norris?" Daniel asked, reaching out gently for her fist to return it to her side.

"Where?" Adrienne replied, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, as he pulled away, still laughing.

"To explore to marketplace that Okulo was suggesting we visit. Come on Ad, weren't you listening?" he teased, imitating the condescending voice Adrienne liked to give Vala when she knew that Vala hadn't been listening during a briefing. Smiling, the redness leaving her face, Adrienne gazed around the village in complete wonder.

Of course she wanted to explore; she could go through the gate a thousand times and never tire of seeing all of these new worlds and new civilizations.

"Sorry, just get caught up in it sometimes, you know?" she answered, pulling her backpack from her shoulders to take out her digital camera.

"Trust me, I know," he smiled at her and while he waited for her to get her things in order, Daniel took note of the location of his fellow team members for this quest. Ronon and Teal'c in a defensive mode, were walking to the outskirts of the city, most likely checking for any potential threats. Ready to carry on, Adrienne was just putting her pack back on her shoulders when they heard a shout behind them, a voice that Daniel was hoping to avoid.

"Wait up!" it screamed shrilly across the fountain square Daniel turned around seeing Vala running towards them, waving her hands for them to stop and hang back so she could catch up. Rolling his eyes, he looked over at Adrienne, realizing their academic jaunt was about to take a turn in another direction entirely.

"We have company," he muttered under his breath, disappointed that his chance to explore with Adrienne was now going to be interrupted.

"Play nice Indy," his assistant ordered, hoping he would heed her request and bite his tongue. Vala had also kicked up her flirtations and over the top behavior since Daniel and Adrienne had started spending so much time together, more impromptu coffee runs to the lab, more lap sitting in the cafeteria and, according to Daniel one weary morning last week, a visit to his quarters wearing nothing but a red chinese silk robe and a smile. That story in particular had Adrienne in stitches for hours, laughing so hard she cried, literally, but she knew it was driving her boss and now close friend insane.

He was quite close to snapping completely.

"Then you get to watch her," Daniel responded curtly, turning to walk through the village marketplace, leaving his assistant behind, who turned onto her heels as well, determined to not miss one single thing. Whining as she did so, Vala caught up to the two, babbling on about something that neither Adrienne nor Daniel were listening to, so Daniel glared back at her, informing her that she needed to stay out of trouble, since he would not be getting her out of any trouble. Shooting a warning of her own with those penetrating dark eyes, Adrienne promptly shut him up and placed her hand onto Vala's arm, guiding her gently in the direction of the urban activity.

The marketplace was wonderful and nothing like any Yoruba trading post on Earth. Based on Adrienne's research, it seemed as if these people were traders in every sense of the word as the marketplace was filled with foods, clothing, jewelry, cups, pottery and anything else one could imagine. Speeding up her pace in front of her friend, Adrienne spotted a beautiful necklace on a small brown table littered with other baubles and trinkets, a necklace that she would actually wear despite her normal aversion to jewelry. It was simple, a hemp-like cord that came to a tight knot surrounding a black gemstone that shimmered in rainbow colors when she held it up into the sunlight. She turned it in her fingers carefully, trying to count how many different hues were visible in the amazing gemstone, while Vala, not as impressed, stood beside her digging through a basket of rings listlessly. Feeling someone looking at her, Adrienne placed the necklace down in front of her on the table, turning to discover that Daniel was peeking over her shoulder.

"Shame they don't take Visa?" the cajun quipped, stepping away from the table to follow him once more.

"Come on, really, you don't know how to do this? Ad, you disappoint me," Daniel said with a smile and reached into the front left pocket of his tac vest, pulling out a Powerbar and a pen. Holding the energy bar up, he shook the packaged nourishment, "Ounje" Adrienne thought she heard him call it and then showed the pen, repeating the procedure, except this time using the word "Koosile." The man behind the table nodded and looked down at the goods in Daniel's hands, repeating the words and receiving an affirmation from Daniel that he was correct. Reaching for the necklace on the table, Daniel held it up, creating a human scale in his hands, making it quite clear to Adrienne what he was doing, negotiating.

He was negotiating to buy her a necklace.

The man shook his head, so nodding, Daniel reached in his pocket and pulled out yet another Powerbar, the man smiling in agreement, bowing his head slightly and pushing the necklace towards Daniel's body.

"There," he said, reaching for the hand by her side and opening her palm, slipping the knotted cord into it. Adrienne looked at him with a look of disbelief, not that bargaining had worked, but that he had essentially bought her a gift. Granted she had given him one as well, in that box that she was fairly certain that he had yet to open, save for the card, but still, this was, well, unexpected.

"Daniel, thank you, I - " she started, but he began to walk away, waving his hand over his head.

"Now you can do it yourself," he said over his shoulder casually, "And you owe me a pen and two Powerbars!" Adrienne shook her head at him, but smiled quietly, knowing he would never ask her to repay him. She quietly tucked the necklace into her tac vest and looked over at Vala, who was putting the rings down and muttering to herself, intending to usher her along.

"What's wrong?" Adrienne asked, pulling Vala away from the table in order to catch up with Daniel, unable to hear what her friend was saying.

"You guys make me sick," she answered, that tone of jealously creeping back into her voice.

"No, you have an active imagination," Adrienne replied, letting go of her arm and following behind Daniel, a part of her privately thrilled at this little turn of events.

They made their way through the marketplace, stopping at vendors here and there and while Adrienne found quickly that her stash on pens could be quite useful, she didn't purchase anything else other than a few apples for herself, Daniel and Vala to nibble along the way. There was just a part of her that felt nothing else she could get today could quite top that necklace, making her reach inside her pocket every time she thought of it, hoping each time that he wouldn't see, lest she feel the wrath of harassment later, or just sheer embarrassment.

Why was she so excited over a woven trinket?

Time clicked by, the sun moving lower in the sky, when Vala, who was still steaming over Daniel's little display of affection toward Adrienne, noticed at the corner of one side market street was a beautiful woman sitting in a lone chair. There were no wares surrounding her, not one small item at her small feet, she was just sitting completely still staring straight ahead at nothing. It was creepy, and in all of her experience, Vala hadn't seen anything quite like it in her life, so she reached out, forgetting the stupid necklace, tapping Adrienne on the shoulder.

"Look, I've been around the galaxy, but that's a funny way to advertise your body," Vala muttered. Completely lost as to what her friend was talking about, Adrienne glanced behind her in the direction that Vala was pointing, seeing this supposed prostitute. Exotic in appearance, much more than the other women in the market this morning, this very attractive woman didn't appear to be selling herself; she actually appeared to be in a deep trance.

"Vala, I think she's a fortune teller," Adrienne replied.

"Really? Even better, give me a pen," Vala said, holding out her hand and requesting their failsafe bargaining chip. Making a face at her, Adrienne looked out to see Daniel trudging on, unaware that the two women had stopped.

"We're being left," she pointed out, hoping Vala would end this nonsense and follow. Not that Adrienne had a problem with giving her a pen for a fortune, fortune-telling was just something stupid and harmless and would amuse Vala for all of five minutes before she would forget everything the woman said, but she didn't want to get lost and separated from Daniel in this bustling marketplace.

"What else is new, now give me a pen," Vala held out her hand more forcefully. Relenting, while still keeping an eye on Daniel, Adrienne reached into her pocket and grabbed a ball point pen, passing it over and Vala took it, approaching the woman slowly.

"Do you speak the Jaffa tongue?" Vala asked, offering the pen in front of her but the woman continued to stare ahead not saying a word, not moving a muscle.

"I think that's a no," Adrienne replied, hoping Vala would just give up at that, especially since the woman was giving Adrienne the creeps, yet she didn't, just switched to some other strange clicking language she could speak. For at stupid as she acted at times, Adrienne often forgot that Vala was a pretty intelligent woman, who could speak almost as many languages as Adrienne herself could, although just not any extra Earth languages. However, much to Vala's chagrin, language number two didn't seem to work either, so Adrienne took a small step forward, clasping her arm lightly and pulling her back toward the main pathway.

"Come on mon ami," Adrienne goaded, gently increasing the pressure on Vala's thin arm, "it looks like she's not wanting our business." Shrugging off the firm grasp of her companion, Vala made one final attempt, in a third language, earning her the same response as before, still, staring silence. Frustrated and concerned at having lost sight of Daniel, Adrienne decided to end this charade herself, shoving the pen into her pocket and starting to walk away, hoping Vala would take the hint and follow.

"Be careful," a voice behind them said. Adrienne, thinking it was Vala messing with her turned around, today understanding why Daniel got to damn mad at her; the woman was relentless.

"Be careful. Or someone will die," the woman from the chair said, Adrienne's curious eyes darting quickly from Vala back over in the direction of the woman in red, whose head had turned and was staring right at them. Confused, and partially wondering what Vala had done to provoke such a response, Adrienne looked over at her companion and then back at the woman, evaluating the situation.

"Excuse me?" she clarified, gazing at the woman, the very strange looking woman she noted, something muted and fuzzy about features that seemed so beautiful before. Vala too seemed bewildered, stepping forward toward the woman, peering closely. The woman looked at Vala, making a slow and intense eye contact, and then deliberately diverted her gaze to Adrienne. Without warning, there was a pop and the woman leapt from the chair, throwing herself in front of the archaeologist's feet and grabbing Adrienne's arm nearly yanking her onto the dust road.

"Listen to me! Someone will die! You must leave or someone will die!" The woman shrieked, looking deep into Adrienne's eyes, eyes as black a night, sending shivers down the cajun's spine. Pulling her arm away quickly, Adrienne broke the stare and without a word turned to catch up to Daniel, her combat boot covered feet for once not minding the lack of running shoes. Vala stood for a second longer, staring at this woman, on her knees in the dirt, her head bowed low and her body language not as confident as before quickly dashing in the direction of Daniel as well.

"Did you hear that woman?" Vala hissed as Adrienne and Daniel walked on, the former still out of breath from her sprint through the city. Adrienne was whispering to Daniel, most likely explaining what had happened because judging by the look on his face, Daniel didn't seem pleased.

'Vala, I only let you come with us because you promised to stay out of trouble. This is not staying out of trouble," Daniel spat over his shoulder as he continued to walk through the marketplace, at a brisker pace than before she thought. He could let his panties get into a twist all he wanted but she had a witness this time, a witness that seemed to be his latest pet, a witness he just might listen to.

"But she said someone was going to die. Addy, you heard her too and she grabbed your arm when she said it?" Vala insisted, hoping that little tidbit of information would jog Daniel into caring. That's right Daniel, the creepy lady touched your little girlfriend, what are you going to do about that, she thought.

"Vala, I don't believe in that stuff and you shouldn't either," Adrienne declared, throwing a wrench into that idea. Sometimes it really grated Vala how "tough" her new friend could be, or at least acted. Annoyed, especially since she was being ignored as normal, Vala backed up in a huff, shoving her hands into the air.

"You don't believe in anything. Don't you find that a bit depressing?" Vala asked, trying to elicit any type of reaction out of Adrienne, even if it was anger of her bringing up last month's lunch conversation on religion.

"Not really," Adrienne shrugged, clearly uncomfortable by the conversation. Rather than argue with Vala, she just walked faster to catch up with Daniel grabbing his arm and slowing his pace so she could stand on her toes to whisper in his ear.

"Ugh... the only thing worse than religion is prophecy," she murmured softly, making Daniel pause and look back at Vala, who was at the present whipping her head in every direction in search of this potential threat.

"I know, and leave it to Vala to believe a bit in both," Daniel replied, moving onward not interesting in having that conversation with either woman. Without acknowledgment, Vala seemed to drop the matter as they made their way around the rest of village marketplace without incident, meeting back with the others at the village fountain.

"I'd like to stay," Daniel stated to the group, a possibility they all knew and had prepared for.

"Fine by me," Adrienne replied, agreeing that there was no reason to head home until more of these outside resources had been explored. Teal'c and Ronon, who were sitting on the ground by the fountain, nodded in agreement as well and Daniel looked over at Vala to gauge her response, a simple shrug of her shoulders, accepting the fact that neither Daniel nor Adrienne were going to heed her warning.

"Settled. Then I'll go back to Okulo and see if we can make arrangements. I think there's a lot to be gained by an alliance with these people," he explained, Adrienne smiling at his need to explain as she tried not to laugh to herself. She knew him now, pretty well, and any reason to not to go home was good enough for him. She wanted to tease, but refrained, knowing that as acting leader of this mission he was nervous enough as it was without her adding to his anxiety.

She could just add to it later.

He might pick on her for always being on the go, but she was starting to think the man would be content living out of a backpack for the rest of his life. Instead of saying what was really on her mind, she spoke up, volunteering to help, giving her more time to think of a way to tease him.

"I'll run back," she offered, "let Sam know."

"Fine, but I don't want you to go alone," Daniel answered as Adrienne began to make a face at him, "anything could happen Addy, don't look at me like that. Ronon, you go with her." The Sataedan nodded and took off his pack to lighten his load, handing it over to Vala, strapping his gun tighter to his leg. Adrienne did the same, passing her things over to Daniel as she gave him a dirty look, using her eyes to her advantage. She hated when he treated her like she couldn't handle herself, but he just glared back at her with bright blue spears of his own, daring her to question as he took her backpack and tossed it over his shoulder. She paused for a moment, Daniel noted, not to argue but to look at her staff weapon, at Teal'c and back at the weapon.

"AdrienneRowan, I shall care for your staff weapon in your absence. Take my Zat instead," Teal'c suggested, extending his hand kindly to trade defensive items. Strapping the Zat to her leg as Ronon had done, she stood and straightened her clothing, glancing up at Daniel.

"Be back in about ninety," she guessed, peering over at Ronon who was waiting to follow her lead.

"Let's go," he agreed, breaking into a light jog behind her as the cajun made a dash for the gate.

Addy got a run in after all, Daniel thought to himself, knowing that was why she volunteered. Actually, he was quite surprised that she didn't have running shoes stashed away somewhere in her pack, instead watching black military issue boots slam the dry ground as they disappeared in the distance. As her curvy form dipped over the horizon he took a breath, a tiny part of him worried that something might happen to his new partner in crime, but he pushed the thought away, turning to lead his two other companions back to the village.

Adrienne and Ronon were about halfway back to the gate when Adrienne yelled up to her alien companion.

"Dex! Can we walk? Some of us can't do this forever!" Adrienne begged, refraining from bringing up why exactly her friend could outrun her. He'd told her one day in the gym how he had fallen into his position on Atlantis, yet another horror story of life for one of her friends. Spending your life outrunning your hunters was distinctly different from her own life as a runner and another reason why Adrienne was glad he had never taken her up on her little one lap challenge around the gym.

Unlike her match with Daniel, he would have creamed the mess out of her.

"We're gonna have to run again soon though," Ronon said as they both slowed to a walk, "You're the one that told Daniel ninety minutes."

"No, that's fine, just let my legs rest a sec. Either way, I think it is gonna take a lot less than ninety minutes to get there and back. Dialing Sam won't take that long," Adrienne answered, confident that she had time to rest and still keep true to her word. To be honest, she just liked to stick to whatever timeline she had originally give Daniel, whether it be for a slide show, a translation, or some smaller errand like this, making up for the fact that she couldn't arrive on time in the mornings. He teased her, told her that she wanted to be Superwoman, and while she denied it to his face, there was a part of his accusation that was correct, but she'd never admit it aloud. Taking a deep breath as she slowed her stride, Adrienne shoved her hands into her pockets, her eyes staring off into the vastness of the savannah.

"Not sure why Jackson wants to stay in this place," Ronon noted, his own dark eyes taking in their surroundings, "there's just a lot of sand, grass and beaded jewelry." Adrienne smiled, having noticed the same herself, although with the intricacy of some of the beadwork, a few wall hangings in particular, she wasn't too torn up over it.

She just hoped Daniel had stashed enough Powerbars for her to shop with later.

"It's more about seeing people in their element and how they react to their environment and others," she explained, "and besides, there's a chance that they have some natural resources we can take advantage of."

"Always something the big boys want, huh?" Ronon asked, Adrienne giggling, that for as stupid as others might take him to be, he could call a spade a spade. The sun was blaring on them, Adrienne keeping silent, not wanting to have the same type of conversation with her very handsome running companion that she had with her neurotic boss now turned friend about government, politics and other generally boring topics, but between the heat of the UV rays on her skin and the monotony of walking step by step deeper into the grasslands, Adrienne was growing impatient and wanted to hurry up, make it to Sam and get back to where the real activity was. Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder at the exact moment that Ronon was rubbing a bead of sweat from his brow.

"I'm good now, I'm gonna run ahead. Just keep walking, it's no big deal. I just want to phone home and get back," she said.

"Yea, I can tell you're antsy. I thought you said we had plenty of time? Just go, I'll catch up in a few," he answered, Adrienne giggling at his use of Earth slang.

"Alright, just don't tell Daniel I ran ahead. He'll flip out!" Adrienne shouted as she began to do just that, run ahead.

"And don't go thinking that this means you can out run me Rowan!" she heard him shouting behind her. She laughed, picking up her pace when a sound interrupted her short stride, a sounds like a low rumbling thunder. Halting and ducking, fearing a Lucian attack or worse, Adrienne laced her fingers behind her head, scanning her leg to judge distance and speed to her Zat, vowing to not go down without a fight, unless of course they were bombing the savannah, in which case she hoped her crouched stance would protect her.

But nothing came, no lights, sounds or shots, and most importantly, no ships yet the sound continued, growing louder in fact, with fewer breaks between the rumbles. Confused, she looked behind her and saw what appeared to be smoke rolling in the distance toward them from the left, well her left, Ronon's right, a wave of gray and tan dust rolling into the shore of the grassland.

A wave of dust headed straight for Ronon.

Scrambling to her feet, shrieking his name, Adrienne sprinted like she never had before, back to the frozen Sateadan.

The herd of large antelope-like creatures was in full stampede and Ronon had indeed seen them, momentarily frozen by the sight. Sateada was a civilized planet and he had seen creatures like this before, happily contained in zoos for their viewing pleasure and never in full stampede, but Adrienne was screaming like a crazy woman, running full tilt towards him, breaking him from his trance. Suddenly, much less overwhelmed and more concerned, Ronon started to sprint toward Adrienne waving his arms in the direction of the gate shouting for her to turn back and continue running in the straight ahead, that the animals seemed to be migrating and not in pursuit. Understanding, Adrienne turned around and dashed back, looking behind her repeatedly to see if Ronon had been overtaken. He was sprinting ahead and close, but not close enough; glancing to her left she could see that both she and Ronon were still in the path of the animals and ran faster, hoping with each step that Ronon was right behind her. The ache in her side was nearly unbearable, worse than any other's runner's stitch she had ever experienced and she looked again, seeing that she had cleared the group while Ronon was still just feet away from the herd. Screaming, she reached out, feeling his hand touch hers lightly and tightening her grasp, Adrienne pulled the much larger man as hard as she could to her, Ronon Dex crashing down on top of her smaller frame. Her back now hurting as bad as her side from the impact, Adrienne glanced up to insure that they had made it, her heart stopping as a large, deer like animal jumped over their stack of legs and kept running.

"Dex, are ya ok?" Adrienne asked, pushing him painfully from her chest.

"Scared the shit out of me, but I'm fine. Are you hurt? Where did they come from?" Ronon questioned, scanning her as he pushed himself up onto his hands and off of her body. Adrienne waved her hand as she shook her head, one finger toying at her scarred lip out of concern.

"Did I bust your lip open again?" Ronon continued, moving her finger gently from her mouth as he crawled to the side, carefully examining her face.

"No," she answered, shaking her head but allowing him to examine, "only Daniel manages to do that." Knowing that to be sadly true, Ronon chuckled, peering back once more at his legs realizing how close he was to having them crushed. Hiding the chill from Adrienne that was rocketing through him, he brushed the dirt and sand from his BDU pants and sat back onto his heels.

"Let's just go and get back. I'd hate to think of what else could come running through here," he ordered and without debate, Adrienne stood herself, casting off her fear the best she could, extending her hand to help him to his feet. Taking it he stood, looking off once more into the distance at the vanishing animals, a parting memory of noise and flesh. This time, they decided to jog the rest of the way, together, not stopping until the task was complete.

Okulo, as Daniel had expected, agreed that they could stay, offering them one large hut to share situated on the outskirts of the city. It was a one room domicile, an arrangement of grass mats on the floor, some for sleeping and some for sitting it seemed, but that didn't seem to really bother any of the group, all of whom had slept on much worse. Friendly exterior or not, Daniel was pleased they would be able to all stay together because in his experience there had been too many close calls when the group was separated. This Okulo character seemed to be a very intelligent man who might try something just like that if they weren't careful, not that he seemed to be that type of person but Daniel erred on the side of caution.

Fortunately enough, the Parakoyi didn't seem to mind that there were women in the group who were not claimed by the men, although Daniel was fairly certain that if need be Vala would gladly volunteer to play his wife, yet again. That would be a real treat, he thought to himself, making a mental note that if such conversation were to come up during dinner to claim Adrienne before she could protest or leave him to Vala's clutches just to toy with him. In fact, he was considering claiming Adrienne as his wife anyway, since this particular tribe of people put a great importance on the female counterpart, or counterparts, of the relationship, thereby insuring her equal access to all gleaned information. It had been one of Okulo's wives, Oda, not Okulo that had led them to the hut and left them to themselves to get situated, waiting inside for Daniel's approval as he went in ahead of his group, not timidly either, to see if they needed anything else before excusing herself to help prepare dinner.

She probably wouldn't fight him on it, after all, he wasn't expecting any baked goods and didn't mind her tattoos and if he was remembering their late night conversation correctly, that had been marriage criteria. He could always tell her the necklace from the market meant that she had agreed anyway.

That would be funny, he thought, nerves coursing through his body. Why had he bought her that necklace? That wasn't like him at all, he just thought it would make her happy and in that moment he wanted to make her happy.

"We going in Blue Eyes or are we gonna stand here and stare at the doorway?" Vala's voice broke his train of thought, Daniel reaching forward to pull back the fabric doorway so they could see their arrangements for the evening.

Satisfied by their accommodations, Daniel, Teal'c and Vala ducked inside to lay claims on the mats, Daniel peeping over to see where the door was, selecting the mat farthest from and placing Adrienne's pack on top.

Without thinking, tossed his stuff beside it.

He was just sitting down to relax for a moment before diving into the resource scans in his file, when he saw Vala plop down on the mat to his other side. Reactively, he rolled his eyes wondering if maybe Adrienne could fake a nightmare or something to ensure that his night was uneventful but just in case, and trying not to make a scene, Daniel carefully scooted his mat over closer to his assistant's.

He was just turning his back to unclasp his tac vest when he heard a scream behind him, darting around in the direction of the shriek to see a large cobra-like snake facing Vala, its hood open and teeth blaring. Not wanting the snake to bite her, or him for that matter, he froze, trying to scan the room with his eyes, looking for a weapon, a zat, a P-90 anything, when a blast came from the other side of the hut, the snake falling into a pile in front of Vala, smoking, guts strewn about her boots. Daniel glanced back toward the doorway of the hut, the source of the blast clear, as Teal'c was standing in the entryway, staff weapon in hand, head opened and pointed at what was left of the beast. Vala breathed out deeply, taking her hand to her heart, leaving her boots motionless in the serpent's viscera.

"Where did that come from?" Daniel asked, snapped really, thinking it was something she might have acquired in the market or worse, brought in the hut as a joke.

"I don't know," Vala responded, her voice shaking and serious, "I put down my pack and it was just there, staring at me," Snapping the head to his staff weapon closed, Teal'c set it against the rigid woven wall, walking over to examine the decimated serpent.

"It is indeed a real snake, no magic, no machine. It must have slipped into the hut, possibly seeking the warmth of the fire," Teal'c stated, turning to indicate the fire Oda had started in the hut shortly before their arrival. Nodding in agreement, yet still pretty freaked out by the entire encounter, Daniel resumed his reading as Teal'c stood to take the serpent out of their sleeping area, scooping the guts and pieces into his hands unaffected. The archaeologist bit his lip, trying to hide his aversion to the gore, when he heard another shout from right outside just as Teal'c was ducking to make his way through the door, forcing him to take one more glance at the pile of snake in his friend's hands.

"Gross, what did you do to that thing?!"

It was Adrienne's voice, the relief that they were back washing over Daniel. Peeking her head into the hut, her nose pinched firmly between her fingers, Adrienne shook her head in playful scolding.

"Playing with snakes are we?" she joked, walking over to her pack and sitting down beside Daniel.

"Damn thing attacked me!" Vala stated, obviously still shaken by the cold blooded intruder, "I have no idea how it got in here."

Daniel spoke quickly, hoping, wishing that she wouldn't turn this into another attention grabbing ploy like she had tried to do with the fortune teller, "You heard Teal'c; it probably just crawled through a hole to investigate." Able to read the annoyance on his face, Adrienne chuckled, pulling her backpack into her lap as Teal'c and Ronon entered, Ronon already telling Teal'c of their own close encounter with nature.

"Sumtin' bout da crittas 'ere," Adrienne started, Daniel stifling a laugh at both her word choice and pronunciation, "Ronon and I almost got taken out by an 'erd of antelope or sumtin' close. It was like a scene out of a bad western," Adrienne crossed her legs, opening her pack and taking out a bottle of vitamin water, Daniel staring at her in disbelief.

Forget the cajun, Adrienne and Ronon were almost stampeded?

"Antelope?" Daniel asked, looking at his assistant like she was crazy.

"Yeah, antelope," Adrienne repeated, "thank God Dex is a good sprinter," she replied casually, taking a swig from the bottle. There was a brief silence as Daniel tried to scan her over with his eyes, seeing if she was alright or just playing it tough, when Vala whipped her head around to glare at the both of them and then down at the blast hole in front of her, still littered with snake guts.

"Oh my gods!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening, her chest heaving with breath.

"What is wrong ValaMalDoran?" Teal'c asked, moving to remove the remainder of snake guts from the hole thinking that might have caused her obviously nervous outburst. Vala still seemed very upset, but didn't look any better as Teal'c tossed aside a few organs and some skin, ignoring him to continue to stare over at Daniel and Adrienne.

"She said someone was gonna die!" Vala said, eyes like saucers, "you heard her Addy. Someone is gonna die and you almost got trampled and I almost became the Queen of Sheba!" Cleopatra, Adrienne thought, you almost became Cleopatra, well sort of, but she held her tongue taking another swig of her water, shaking her head and trying not to laugh at her incorrect historical reference and absurd notions.

"Vala, this is the great wide open. It's not prophecy; it's nature," Adrienne replied as Daniel was leaning forward to whisper an explanation to Teal'c and Ronon, not a very nice one Adrienne could hear as she tried to calm her friend. Sitting back smirking, Daniel let the two warriors take it all in, Ronon, in particular erupting into laughter, talking about something like wraith phantoms or some nonsense that Adrienne didn't understand. He began to cough and choke on his words, so Adrienne reached her bottle over, offering him some water, which he took gratefully, halting his harassment of Vala as he poured the warm liquid down his throat.

"There are no such things as real fortune tellers ValaMalDoran. They are charlatans that prey on the weak," Teal'c stated, trying to be supportive.

"Besides Vala," Ronon added, beating his chest with his fist as he did to clear the cough, "people die every day. That's a pretty general statement: Someone's gonna die. Yeah, someone will probably die. Did you check your pockets? She might have been trying to distract you to rob you. I saw it happen all of the time back on Sateda." Concluding his speech, the most Daniel thought he had ever heard the man say, Ronon took a long drink from the water bottle this time, his laughter settled and handed it back to Adrienne, thanking her with a nod and directing his attention over to Daniel.

"Well, if we're gonna have the risk of any more supposed wild animal attacks, I think we should be more vigilant. I really don't want to get run over again," Ronon requested.

"I agree with RononDex," Teal'c concurred, his deep dark gaze back at the hole from his staff weapon, "We must be careful as we are not familiar with the beasts of this world."

"Alright," Daniel agreed quickly, remembering that this trip he was the one making all of the decisions, "we're going to be summoned to dinner soon and when we get back we can discuss a watch rotation. But let's keep it quiet; we don't want to appear so easily spooked by some wildlife." Vala continued to mutter something about not being listened to, Daniel ignoring her protests, while Adrienne dug around in her pack producing a bottle and a small towel, standing and looking back down at Daniel.

"Hey, I'm gonna go wash my face and arms before we eat," she said and headed out of the hut. Sitting confused on his sleeping mat, Daniel paused, not registering what she had said and when it finally clicked, and he shut the folder quickly, leaping to his feet, chasing her through the curtained entrance.

"Wash up where?" Daniel asked, not remembering Oda pointing out a place to wash and noting the need to ask her for one. Dramatically halting her stride, Adrienne pointed in the direction in which she and Ronon had run, almost two hours before, tapping her feet impatiently while he worried.

"There was a stream right over there, very close, no worries shug," she said quickly and turned again, heading in that direction. He would follow, she knew he would, but there was no way that she could represent her planet covered in sweat, dust and god knows what other things she managed to get onto herself in her tumble to avoid being squished to death. He could babysit if he felt the need, she wasn't going to stop him and to be honest she didn't mind his company.

"Must you? I was going to ask about facilities after dinner," he replied, earning himself a dirty look as she paused again, glaring back at him. Someone really needs to market her glare as a weapon, he thought, shivering at the coldness in her eyes.

"You didn't just run five miles and you're lucky I only want to wash my face," she answered over her shoulder, hoping he saw her smile, that she wasn't trying to be a pain just needed a moment, continuing toward her destination. Accepting that this was a battle he just needed to resign, Daniel jogged to catch up with her, grabbing her shoulder to slow her pace.

"Fine, but you know the rules. Out of sight, go in pairs. You just seem to think that you're above that," he raised his eyebrows and she didn't comment, just continued to make her way to the stream, bumping him with her hip before she walked on.

Pushing his way behind her through a small patch of underbrush, he finally saw the body of water that she had been talking about, but how she had seen it from her running path was still a mystery. It was a small and beautiful brook that didn't look like it belonged this far out in the grasslands, weaving it's way in and out of the denser forest on the outskirts of the plain, lightly flowing water trickling along softly over tan and black tumbled stones. Adrienne breathed a sigh a relief at the sight, a symbol of the cleanliness that was to come and walked to the edge, kneeling down and splashing her face with water, letting out a loud sigh as the moisture hit her cheeks.

"Much better," she said aloud, sitting back onto her heels letting the water stream down.

"Ad, can you hurry up? I wanted to go take a look at a few things before dinner," Daniel said to her, whining really in her opinion, standing there hands shoved into his pockets, a frown on his face.

"Yes Mr. Patience, I just wanted to feel a bit less disgusting, hold your horses," she replied, giving him a frown of her own. Reaching in once more to splash her face, Adrienne reached to her left, eyes closed, for the face wash she had set on the edge of the bank. She couldn't seem to find it, so she reached further, feeling around very carefully, until frustrated, she shoved her hand backward, thinking she might have knocked it away when she felt a large furry body under her hand.

Frozen in fear, she didn't move, didn't flinch, holding perfectly still when she felt large hairy legs touch her forearm, inching their way up her skin. That did it, that prompted her, and Adrienne screamed out loud, leaping to her feet, desperately trying to get the water out of her eyes so she could defend herself against the creature, how big was that thing, when she heard the zap of a Zat gun, the shock of that too causing her to trip and fall backward into the water, still screaming. Shaking, but hiding in the protection of the water, if such a beast would be deterred by the stream, she opened her eyes and saw Daniel standing over her, Zat gun pointed safely downward. She traced his gaze to the ground and right over beside her bottle of face wash was the biggest spider she had ever seen, easily the size of a guinea pig or small cat, it's long black hairy legs splayed about it, knocked unconscious by the stun of Daniel's weapon. Looking at it sent chills down her spine, which were further exasperated by sitting in the cold stream, making her shiver violently, when a hand entered her field of vision and she looked up to see Daniel reaching down to help her up. Gratefully, she took his arm and pulled herself to her feet, her entire body still shaking with fear.

"Are you alright?" he asked, holding her hand in his and looking it over, lifting her arm and examining the rest of her carefully.

"Yea, I landed on my backside pretty hard, but I'll live," she answered, putting on a brave front, vowing not to fall to pieces in front of him. It wasn't that she was scared of spiders, but creatures, possibly poisonous creatures from another planet were a different story. Not making one argument about women's independence or her not needing a man, Adrienne turned around slowly, letting him make sure there was nothing else on or around her and satisfied she was alright, Daniel let her arm go, still frowning.

"Sorry I let it get that close; it was so fast. It jumped right out of the trees and went straight for you. I've never seen a spider move like that, or at least one so large. Are you sure he didn't bite you?" Daniel asked, starting to examine his assistant a second time, his eyes still cutting back at the spider in case it were to reawaken.

"Positive, the only thing that hurts is my rear. And my pride a bit," she added and shrugged, trying to play it off, but she was still trembling. Reading the discomfort in her face, her eyes not making their usual confident contact, Daniel reached over for her again, placing his hand gently on her back, rubbing it lightly.

"Come on, I'll buy you more face wash. Leave that. Let's get going before it wakes up" he whispered, guiding her carefully with the hand still at her back and she let him, turning her gaze away from the arachnid heading back for the others.

Oda had come by to remind them of dinner in the absence of the two archaeologists and was kind enough to run to her own home to bring Adrienne a dress so she was able to change before dinner and hang her uniform out to dry. When Daniel recounted what had happened at the stream to the group as Oda fetched Adrienne clean clothes, no one seemed to have any real explanation at all as to what might be going on. Everyone except Vala, that is, who immediately delved into her argument of fortune telling and prophecy and again, no one paid her any mind.

Once Adrienne was dressed, wearing a thin cotton-like gown that barely went to her knees, a garment that Daniel knew was making her feel highly uncomfortable and exposed, they made their way to the fountain at the village center, the former lagging behind, her arms across her chest. Pausing, Adrienne pulled at the hem of the garment, trying to pull it lower, reaching back up to adjust the top. Her black sports bra was showing through very visibly, but he knew she would rather die of embarrassment from it showing than take it off. It's so funny, he thought as he undid his jacket and tac vest, she can walk around me in a towel but is falling to pieces here over a skimpy dress.

"Here," he offered as he pulled his jacket from his shoulders, passing it over. She hadn't even noticed that he stopped beside her, jumping at bit as the fabric was thrust in front of her face.

"I'm ok," she countered, taking a breath and starting to walk on.

"No, and if you're messing with that dress all night you're not going to be able to focus, and I need you to focus," he argued, trying not to embarrass her further but invoke her work ethic, an uncompromising trait of his assistant.

"Thanks Indy," she whispered quietly, taking his larger jacket and slipping it onto her shoulders. He chose not to answer, not to say another word, walking ahead slightly, just enough to catch up to the others but also slightly lagging behind, just in case she needed anything else.

The dinner was spectacular, a large open meal held in honor of a great hunt that was successfully completed a few days earlier. It was everything Daniel had learned to expect of celebration feasts from his numerous visits across the galaxy, seats of honor, platter after platter of food, live entertainment and when Okulo introduced them to the other elders of the village, everyone greeted them kindly and respectfully. Daniel did notice, however, that a few of the seats were empty, seats of importance at the lead table, but Okulo was talking so much that he did not get a chance to ask who exactly was missing and why, so he just ate and answered their trade questions. Putting on his best diplomatic show for the team, Daniel awaited the opportunity to ask his own questions, an opportunity that never came.

He did manage, however, to get from him some information on resources and where those operations were located, but as soon as he thought he had a chance to talk about the people themselves and how the trade union could affect them, dinner ended, Daniel and the team returning to the hut, with many things unanswered. Rather than rekindle the fire, a small part of him thinking that might attract their next unwanted animal visitor, Daniel set up a lantern in the center of the mats to assign watch duties.

"Ok, I'll take first watch, with Adrienne, because we have some things we need to go over before tomorrow," he began. Adrienne started to make a face at him, certain that she was being coddled, but since they did have some maps to go over she really couldn't argue.

Plus, she kind of liked this "I care about what happens to you because you are my friend now" side of Daniel, but she'd never tell him.

"Second watch is Vala, then Teal'c and then Ronon will take us into sunrise. If there are any issues just wake me up," Daniel concluded, his bright blue eyes scanning the crowd for any objections, but there were none. Vala, who had begun to read Adrienne's vampire novels, yet another victim to his assistant's incessant love of pop culture, had decided to stay up while Daniel and Adrienne sat outside, working and standing guard.

After the fifth map, Adrienne felt she had entered most of the data into her iPad. She ordered it to save and started to lean back, almost falling over into the tent, Daniel catching her, laughing.

"Sorry," she apologized, "forgot it was fabric." She sat up quickly adjusting the dress to cover where it had slipped up. She had decided to leave her SG clothes hanging until morning, just to make sure she was comfortable. Smiling, Daniel let her go, helping her the rest of the way upright.

"It's alright. I'm finished with the maps, you can head to sleep," he offered, noting that she looked more tired than normal, most likely because of the excitement today, but Adrienne shook her head.

"No, I can't bail on my duties Indy, you can't make exceptions for me," Adrienne said quietly.

Daniel had no reply.

He was making exceptions for her, because he had feelings for her. He looked behind himself to see that the only person awake was Vala, and he could only see her feet, legs crossed and left foot shaking over her knee as she read. Deciding to take a risk, he peered over at Adrienne, reaching out his arms.

"Then come here," he requested. She paused, confused for just a moment and then leaned forward, laying in his arms as he asked. He held her, lightly at first, letting her adjust and get comfortable, cuddling herself into his lap.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," she responded, reaching out her hand, grabbing his loose fingers. She squeezed them gently, pulling herself closer to him, a sigh escaping her lips. Taking that as a signal, Daniel took the hand that was draped over her and began to run his fingers gently up and down her bare arm. She allowed him the pleasure for just a moment and shivered, pushing him away.

"Stop it," she giggled, Daniel doing immediately as she requested.

"I'm sorry Ad, I thought - " he began to stammer, realizing that he had gotten his signals all crossed and smiling, she rolled over in his lap to face him.

"No, shug, you thought right. It just tickles," she replied. Thought right? Was she having the same internal conflict? Was she thinking the same thing? He felt her stare from his lap and met her eyes.

"You're so cute Indy. Yeah, this is nice, I like this, I wouldn't have laid here if I didn't," Adrienne assured him. Daniel looked around himself again, breathing deeply.

_Do I do it? _

_Do I dare?_

He glanced at his watch, noting there was still thirty five minutes in their watch, deciding to risk it. Pulling her higher into his arms, he leaned forward, pushing their lips together. Adrienne didn't fight him, she didn't hesitate, just reached up behind his neck and brought herself closer. She tasted clean, like toothpaste, and her tongue was chilled from the bottled water she had been drinking. They kissed softly and slowly, right outside the hut before Adrienne finally broke away, running her hand down his face.

"That was nice too," she whispered and pecked his lips gently. He released her back into his lap, still holding her in his arms, and began to caress her arm again, a tad harder so it wouldn't tickle. Adrienne laid there and let herself drift sleepily in and out of consciousness.

When the alarm beeped on Vala's watch, she shut the book, grabbing her gun and heading out.

The scene that she walked into made her drop her book.

There was Daniel, sitting and leaning against a stump-like chair he had pulled out to sit on, holding Adrienne tightly in his arms. She wasn't asleep, but nuzzled close to him, her lips resting lightly at his neck. Slightly groggy himself, Daniel turned his head to look up at Vala.

"Hey, time to switch?" he asked, uncharacteristically, because Daniel would have known when they should have switched, it just seemed that right now he didn't care. Vala just nodded her head, unable to form words. He started to sit forward, stirring Adrienne, who must have been closer to sleep than Vala thought, kissing her lightly on the temple to urge her awake.

What in the hell was going on?

Adrienne opened her eyes and reached for his leg, rubbing it lightly and pulling away. Daniel stood, reaching down to help her stand, but in a different way, in a more caring way.

There was no way, were they together?

Since when?

Since their watch started?

Vala was thoroughly confused.

Neither of the archaeologists said a word, just walked back into the hut, their fingers clasped lightly. Vala turned to watch them enter, completely perplexed, a million thoughts running through her mind.

When Daniel got to his mat, he shifted it closer to where Adrienne had positioned hers, desiring nothing more than to hold her again. He scanned the room, seeing that Ronon was still asleep and Teal'c had moved onto Kelnareen, which was fine by him, seeing as how he had already been concerned enough with what Vala would say.

She was still in shock.

Better for Daniel, because he was going to have a lot of explaining to do to Sam when they returned, explaining of the 'I want to be with my assistant' sort. Adrienne was grabbing some blankets from the stack that Oda had left, so Daniel lay down and reached out his arms again for her. Blushing, Adrienne tossed the blanket up and obliged, crawling into his embrace and under the fabric. Instead of wriggling her body close to him, she turned herself so they were face to face on the floor, leaning in to kiss him lightly, which surprised him a touch, but he went with it.

They lay there, kissing slowing and passionately, all the while trying to be quiet and not wake Ronon or alert Vala to their activities. Daniel held her so tightly as he moved his lips slowly against hers, trying not to let his mind wander to other thoughts, more intimate thoughts.

He wanted to touch her.

She must have read his mind, eerily, because at the very moment he was feeling the urge to reach his hand down and softly run his fingers along her skin, she broke their kiss and brought her lips to his ear.

"It's ok," she whispered and he wasn't sure exactly what she was saying was alright, that he could touch her, caress her, or that she could feel the hardness growing in his uniform pants that he wasn't really trying to hide. He released her with one of his hands, lightly, so he could bring it down to caress her face and run his fingers down her side and to her butt. Once his hand reached down he could tell instantly through the thin fabric that she wasn't wearing any underwear.

That must have been soaked too in her fall.

He felt himself stiffen further.

Adrienne pecked his lips again lightly and arched her body, in such a way as to allow him to grab the bottom edges of her dress and pull it upward. He did as she silently requested, pushing the fabric up her thigh, exposing her naked hip, rubbing it lightly. It was the hip with the tattoo and he had a burning desire to see that bare hip again, to kiss it, to press it against his body. Throbbing, he breathed in quietly as he felt Adrienne's lips again press against his own, and kissed them, letting his passion take over. Pulling her pelvis, now bare, closer to his own, he rubbed himself against her, wanting her to feel that he was ready for her, that he was hard just for her. He felt her tongue lick his lips and she pulled away, reaching her hand for his belt buckle, unclasping it, beginning to unbutton his pants. Gasping, he pushed away.

"Hang on Ad," Daniel whispered, and reached down, in an attempt to be discreet, pulling his pants down slightly to allow himself to be released. She reached for him and he felt her soft hands grasping him, squeezing him and pulling him. Worried, he glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was paying attention, but Ronon was still asleep, Teal'c hadn't moved and there was no sign from Vala from the outside, so Daniel quietly reached under the blanket and removed his left boot so that he could pull the pants leg off completely. Freed from his construction, he extended his arms again for his lovely assistant, his friend, and pulled her close to his body, slipping his hand between her legs to discover that she was wet. He toyed his fingertips lightly there for just a moment, making her gasp for air, and retracted his hand only to push her thighs apart. Adrienne reciprocated, spreading her legs and pulling herself closer to him. Reaching underneath of her, he positioned himself at her moist entrance and pushed forward as he pulled her hips toward him, sliding into her slowly and carefully. She was as tight as she was wet, creating an amazing friction that made him want to moan out at the feeling, but they had to be quiet. He shoved forward once more and Adrienne hissed, clasping his shoulders and squeezing them tightly.

'"Are you alright?" he asked quietly into her ear, "I can stop," he offered. She was tight around him, a clear sign that it had been at least as long for her as it had been for him, but Adrienne shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, it feels good. Just been a while," she whispered back. He kissed her lightly and pulled back, resuming his slow thrust as best he could quietly, laying on their sides, their friends all around them. It was wrong, they shouldn't have been doing this, but they just couldn't help themselves.

In the darkness of the hut, underneath the thick burlap blanket, Daniel and Adrienne made love quietly, with kissing and touching and gentle thrusts.

It had been so long for Daniel since he had been intimate with a woman that he held on the best he could, through at least half of Vala's watch, but between the worry about being caught and the feeling of being this close to her, Daniel again whispered quietly in her ear.

"I'm close," he murmured and Adrienne clenched him inside of her tightly, making the friction worse. He reached behind her hip and pushed harder, Adrienne wrapping her leg around his waist and grinding herself into him. He felt a twinge in his stomach and the climb of the orgasm taking over his body and Adrienne just held him tighter, whimpering into his ear. He pushed again and again, feeling the build grow stronger and stronger until it broke and he felt himself spilling out into her. He was worried momentarily that she was not as pleased as he started to come down when he heard her whispering frantically.

"Little longer Daniel, just stay hard a little longer please," she begged. He was finished, but wanted to please her so badly, so he held her hips, pushing as far as he could go. Finally, he felt her relax back into his arms and kissed her head, still clinging tightly to her.

"Did you?" he asked quietly, Adrienne nodding in the affirmative. Satisfied, he kissed her again and felt her moving away to stand.

'Where are you going?" he asked, worried by her escape. Smiling, Adrienne knelt back down and whispered in his ear.

"I need to use the bathroom, such as it may be," she replied, and kissed his ear, "it's been a while, hasn't it Indy?" She slipped out of the hut before he could respond. He hoped she meant amount and not performance, but he tried not to analyze either as he pulled his pants back up. Moments later, Adrienne slipped back into the hut and he felt a damp towel shoved into his hand.

'We don't want to smell like sex," she whispered.

"Thanks," he replied, taking it and trying to clean up his mess. What he was going to do with the towel afterwards he was unsure, but he did the best he could to clean himself and shoved it into his pack. She knelt down beside him, waiting until he was straight.

"Did Vala say anything?" he whispered.

"She asked if we were fucking," Adrienne replied, Daniel's heart skipping a beat.

"What did you say?" he asked, fearing her answer.

"I told her no, because we weren't," she answered, crawling into his arms, hoping he understood her meaning. He held her again and kissed her cheek, enjoying the smoothness of her skin against his own.

"Adrienne, I hope you know that you mean something to me," he whispered to her in the dark, making her squeeze his arms around her tighter.

"I do. You're special to me too," she whispered back and buried herself into his chest, closing her eyes and letting herself fall asleep against his body.

At the end of her two hours, Vala tapped Teal'c on the shoulder, who got up without complaint and headed outside. She looked over at Daniel and Adrienne who were sleeping peacefully, Daniel holding her tightly in his arms. Jealously retched through her body, but she also was happy, for Adrienne at least. If Daniel really did care about her, which was likely since she had never seen him act like this with anyone, he would treat Adrienne like a princess and she deserved that. Vala just sighed and moved her mat closer to Ronon.

Teal'c was an hour into his shift when he decided that he had slept enough and would stay up with Ronon until sunrise, even considering trying to read the book that Adrienne had offered him. Remembering that he had left it inside the hut, and not wanting to disturb any of his friends to enter and retrieve it, he sat there, lightly meditating, his blank dark gaze staring out into the darkness.

As he was running through his head preparations for the birthing ceremony for his grandchild, a point upon which he was meditating often now, he heard a low rustle in the soft underbrush just feet from where he sat. Quickly Teal'c stood, pointing his staff weapon in the direction of the sound, tapping the activate switch with his finger to open the head of the weapon. There was silence, complete silence, so much so that Teal'c thought he had imagined the entire thing when the rustle happened again, but this time it seemed closer.

Much closer.

Peering into the darkness, the rustle became a low growl, a large cat bounding out of the woods without any other warning, racing straight for him, forcing the large Jaffa to his feet to defend himself. Teal'c fired his staff weapon, intentionally missing, not wanting to kill the large creature but simply desiring to scare it away, the blast making contact right at the back foot of the beast. Yet the animal didn't falter, pacing around Teal'c, matching his steps, their eyes locked onto one another. Hearing the commotion, Daniel and Ronon came dashing out of the hut, Ronon pointing his large gun at the beast as Daniel drew his Zat, their eyes wide with surprise at the massive creature now walking among them.

"Shoot it DanielJackson," Teal'c shouted, seeing that Daniel was the only one with a stun weapon, and catching on that Teal'c did not desire to kill the animal, he did as asked, a laser like strand webbing from the firearm. The animal crumbled into the dust, knocked out cold, but still alive, breathing slowly.

Still dressed in her borrowed gown, Adrienne rushed out of the hut, followed by Vala, armed and prepared to fight, but dropping their hands as the cat hit the ground.

"Is it dead?" Adrienne asked, her finger still on the trigger to the head of her staff weapon, yet concerned for the animal as well.

"Nah," Ronon answered, "Jackson stunned it." Stepping over to assist Teal'c in the removal of the animal, Ronon didn't offer any further comment, but it wasn't Ronon Daniel was really paying attention too, it was Vala, standing beside their temporary quarters, shaking her head, her arms crossed across her chest.

"Did you see something Vala? What are you looking at?" he asked as he walked over to the women.

"At you idiots, that's what I am looking at!" Vala shouted out into the darkness, "Ronon almost gets run over by some deer, I get a face to face meeting with a huge damn snake, Addy gets attacked by a mutant spider and Teal'c get a surprise from a mountain lion. Daniel is something going to have to literally bite you in the ass before you realize that I'm right?!" she screamed, shoving her hands to her hips.

"Vala, some crazy fortune telling woman has nothing to do with our obvious lack of preparedness in terms of the local wildlife. Hell, we got thrown into this mission and Daniel and I only did the pre-lims for SG-2. If anything they're at fault for not thoroughly researching the damn place like they were supposed to!" Adrienne argued, remaining unconvinced that this had any mystical qualities about it. As she gazed over to Daniel's face, seeking support, it seemed that suddenly he wasn't as convinced, at least not as convinced as he was this morning. Handing Ronon his zat gun, Daniel walked toward Vala grabbing her arm forcefully and pulling her toward the village.

"Dammit Daniel! What are you doing?" Vala said as she jerked her arm away, pulling back to smack him if she needed. She hated it when he treated her like an idiot and after Adrienne had clocked him on more than one occasion for that very gesture, she was about to start doing the same. Letting go of her bicep, Daniel stopped, glaring at her viciously.

"Listening to you, that's what you wanted, wasn't it?" he spat, pointing in the direction of the marketplace. She smiled, her mood changing instantly, satisfied to finally being taken seriously and pranced ahead, Daniel following.

Still shaking her head in disbelief at the scene unfolding in front of her, Adrienne walked over to Teal'c and Ronon, who were trying to drag the cat over to the side of the hut and tie it up so it would be unable to do any harm once it had awakened, seeing if they needed any help.

"Someone should go with them AdrienneRowan," Teal'c said, looking at her, in his own way telling her that as Daniel's assistant she should be at his side as he tried to solve this dilemma. Adrienne sighed, the last thing she wanted to do was walk around in the darkness with her two friends, both of which were nearly at one another's throats, but he was right, someone should go with them but she wasn't about to go without a fight.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" she asked them, hoping that someone else would have to endure the bickering between Daniel and Vala. Shrugging, the two men set down the great cat's legs, balling up their fists and shook.

Teal'c paper, Ronon scissors and Adrienne rock.

"Dammit, why is it always me! I suck at such simple damn things!" Adrienne whined aloud, grabbed her staff weapon from the side of the hut and chasing after them.

As she expected, once she caught up to them they were still arguing, loudly, like normal, and she cursed Teal'c and Ronon under her breath.

"I told you, but you didn't listen to me. You NEVER listen to me," Vala was still chastising Daniel for ignoring her.

"Because listening to you gets me into trouble," he answered, glancing over his shoulder to see Adrienne joining them. She was holding her staff weapon and didn't appear to be too thrilled to be following, so he assumed that she been involuntarily elected to follow with said weapon.

"Indy, shug, I hate to point dis out, but it's da middle of da nigh, do ya really dink dis woman is gonna be sittin' dere?" Adrienne noted, with accent, as if she was trying to emphasize her point. Realizing that she was right, Daniel glanced at his watch, but kept walking. It was 2 hours to sunrise, technically time for Ronon's shift to begin, in a perfect world where mother nature wasn't trying to kill them. Refusing to stop now, he just looked back at his assistant, shrugging.

"Then we'll just have to wait," he replied, reaching to pull Vala along, receiving a harsh shove in the arm in the process. Seeing that there was no way out of this, Adrienne tucked her weapon under her arm and together the three of them entered the city, weaving through the marketplace, in search of a lone mysterious woman in a chair, setting up for the day.

Adrienne remembered that they had wandered the market for quite some time before finding the woman, so waiting wasn't the issue, the real issue was going to be wandering to the correct spot. As the sun started to peek over the horizon, villagers began to set up their wares on blankets and tables, going about their habitual routines. Adrienne was enthralled, seeing these people in their element, working away to prepare for their day; their lives were so simple, they just set up their items, sold and went home for the day. Part of her longed for a life so simple, she had never led a nice simple life, her dad always too proud to accept help from the rest of her family and now this, but she would never want to give up this life of adventure that she was living right now. However, her fantasies of being a simple merchant woman were short lived as she heard Daniel and Vala arguing ahead of her, bringing her back to the reality of the situation. Looking up to see they had gotten too far ahead Adrienne ran again to catch them just as they were rounding the corner, Vala pointing like mad over to a blanket where a man was setting up some copper looking pots.

"That's where she was!" Vala claimed, her eyes darting between the two archaeologists before peering back at the man who continued to unpack, oblivious to the shouting in his direction. Unconvinced, Daniel glanced back at Adrienne, looking for some sort of confirmation to Vala's claims not even needing to ask the question Adrienne could read in his face.

"I have no idea. I mean, it was a corner, like this, but they all look alike to me. Sorry, I really wasn't paying attention," Adrienne apologized to Daniel, Vala grumbling already as she stepped up to her friends.

"She was right here! Of course Addy doesn't remember; she was all woozy over that damn necklace you bought her and she's all woosy now cuz you boinked her brains out! She sat right here and you had walked that way," Vala insisted, pointed up a slight hill. Daniel made a face at Vala as if he couldn't really believe that he had listened to her, in fact, Adrienne really couldn't believe he had listened to her.

Crossing his arms across his chest, Daniel scanned the now blustering marketplace, more alive than earlier as the sun crept up into the sky, searching for this imaginary woman that he had allowed Vala into tricking him into thinking existed. Clearly frustrated he could tell, he saw his assistant position her staff weapon on the ground, in such a way that she was resting on it and looking around herself. He knew that she had indeed seen this woman, even if she didn't think there was chance in hell that this woman was a fortune teller, which he was quickly starting to agree with her again.

Ignoring the reactions of both of her friends, Vala marched herself up to the man who had, according to Vala, taken the fortune teller's place.

"Excuse me, do you know what happened to the woman who was here yesterday? Sitting in a chair. Wearing a red dress?" Vala asked.

"No woman," the man replied, "My spot."

"Not yesterday it wasn't," Vala retorted.

"No woman, I sell here," the man answered, annoyed by her tone, continuing to lay out his assortment of copper pots. Kneeling before him on the ground Vala continued to argue, her finger outlining the form of this mysterious woman.

"This is getting us nowhere Indy," Adrienne said, cocking her head at the angry alien woman, who was at this point nose to nose with the vendor, swearing profusely.

"Do you have a better idea?" he peered over his glasses at her and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her staff weapon.

She didn't so she kept quiet.

Finally the man stood, his patience gone, nose to nose with Vala shouting back at her as intensely as she was shouting at him. Daniel reached between to intervene, pulling her away, and holding up his hand to halt the argument as he muttered something that Adrienne could only assume meant calm or friends or something of the sort.

"Are you happy? I listened to you. I'm sure that you saw that woman, maybe even right here, but I think you're taking something simple and blowing it entirely out of proportion," Daniel looked at her exasperated.

"I swear, Addy come on, I know you've got to remember something!" Vala turned, pleading with Adrienne once more who was starting to apologize again, truly unable to remember much of yesterday, other than the necklace, when she felt a light tugging at her leg. Puzzled, she glanced behind herself to see the culprit was a small child, about six years old if she had to guess.

"You seek Araya," the child spoke. Her eyes widening, Vala knelt down to address the child, Daniel and Adrienne staring on in confusion.

"Is she the fortune teller?" Vala asked gently, changing her tone, no longer the harshness she had had with Daniel earlier.

"No, she's crazy. But she sits here sometimes when Ekaro leaves early to tend his flock," the child answered honestly. Smirking, Vala looked back at her friends and made a face as if to say, see, I was right and you didn't believe me.

"Where can we find her?" Vala pushed the child, using her sweetest voice possible.

"I will take you," he offered, "if I can have one of those writing tools your brother used to buy his wife a necklace," he added quickly, pointing at Daniel. Laughing now, shaking her head, Vala flashed a look at Adrienne, raising her eyebrows.

"See, even this kid thinks you're his wife," Vala was quick to mention as Adrienne knelt down, rolling her eyes and handing over a pen to her friend. Smiling, Vala gave it to the child, who yanked the pen from her hand, shoving it into his tunic before grabbing to pull her back through the parts of the marketplace from which they had come, Daniel and Adrienne in a rapid pursuit.

The roads quickly became less crowded as the child led them deep into the outskirts of town, far from the nicer huts, far from the market areas that they had explored yesterday, in fact, this didn't look like a place Okulo would want them to see. These people looked sick, impoverished and dirty, while the rest of the village, primitive as it was, was nice and clean. Amongst a clutch of smaller huts, broken and unattended, the child finally stopped in front of a narrow passageway, shrouded by a tattered red cloth and turned to look back at Vala.

"Can I have another one," he inquired, showing Vala the pen, "for my friend?" Vala motioned for Adrienne to start digging in her vest and the cajun sighed, handing over what she hoped wasn't her last writing implement since that pocket was now empty. The delighted child snatched it from her hand and darted off without another word, leaving them alone in front of the small shack. Feeling vindicated, Vala peeked back at Daniel, hesitating at the door of the hut.

"This is your big idea; be my guest," he indicated with a sweep of his hand, Vala grumbling to herself as she ducked in to enter.

It was the smell that hit Daniel first. Instinctively, he looked back at Adrienne who he knew was sensitive to things like smell, and as he expected, her hand was across her mouth as she fought the urge to gag. Reaching out to help her should she vomit, Daniel placed his palm gently on her forearm, but she shooed him away, wanting more than anything to get this over with. Vala, on the other hand, just kept trudging forward, dropping to her knees to crawl through the dimness undeterred by the stench in front of her.

"Araya?" she asking into the darkness, "I'm the woman from the market yesterday. You told my friend someone is going to die. How did you know that?"

There was silence. Hoping they were not chasing yet another loose end, Daniel turned on his flashlight and there was Araya, hiding in the corner, or at least who he assumed was Araya, a small frail old woman in a tattered red dress, her knees pulled tightly to her chest. Puzzled, Adrienne grabbed his shoulder, pulling him close to her, whispering in his ear.

"Shug that's not the same woman. The women yesterday was, well, beautiful. That woman's a hag," Adrienne informed him. Daniel looked ahead and the woman was wearing that red dress just like Vala said she would be, but it was torn and stained, shining the flashlight confirmed his initial observations, in fact, the women herself must have been at least seventy years old judging by the lines across her face, the looseness of her skin and she was missing most of her teeth.

"Vala, are you sure?" Daniel asked, leaving Adrienne, her hand clamped firmly over her mouth once more, to kneel beside a nodding Vala, who seemed to be completely ignoring him.

"Araya, do you remember me?" Vala crawled closer, "You talked to my friend and I yesterday. You said someone was going to die and we have had a very interesting time here since."

"Someone is going to die," she stated again, emphasizing the word is very carefully.

"Who?" Vala asked.

"Oh I don't know. Koda just said talk to the animals Araya and make them go crazy like you do. But then I saw you and I thought, what nice people, I have to warn them. I had already made the animals go crazy though, sorry," the old woman explained. His eyes widening, Daniel got down on the ground this time, moving Vala out of the way gently to talk to the woman.

"Who is Koda and why would she want to kill us?" Daniel asked.

"She is Oda's sister. Okulo did not want to marry her. She is from the poor district. But so is Oda. Okulo is a liar," the woman was babbling, no longer looking at them, rather looking around the tent like a mad woman. The child was exactly right; she was crazy, proving it further as she began to rock back and forth and sing softly, a lullaby to no one in particular.

"Yes, but Araya, what does that have to do with my friends and I?" Daniel questioned her further, hoping to bring her back to focus.

"Your friends come to trade. Koda does not want friends. Okulo will lie to them. Make rich richer and poor poorer," the woman answer swiftly, then picked up the refrain of the song from right where she left off.

"We're not here to make anyone poor," Vala explained.

"Traders always come through the chappa'ai; they come make Okulo rich, more people move to poor district. Traders leave, never come back," Arya continued.

"Araya," Daniel said her name to clarify, "the Goa'uld were not traders," he tried to explain.

"No, the Gods have been gone. Many traders come. Many traders leave. Poor town grows," she explained, "Koda says that you richest traders we see so far. She told me to make the animals crazy. If one of you died and it looked like an accident, then you be scared and go away. But you seemed so nice, I had to warn you."

"What do you mean, make the animals go crazy?" Vala asked.

"I put idea in the air. Idea that you do not belong. The animals drive you away," Araya explained.

"Can you stop it?" Daniel asked.

"No, cannot stop it once it starts. Not until you leave," Araya answered. Terrified, and also a little satisfied, Vala glared back at Daniel, cutting her eyes, but he kept his gaze on the old woman.

"Thank you Araya. Thank you for trying to warn us and telling us about Koda," Daniel said as he stood, paying no attention to Vala, who was already starting to stammer something about being right, walking over to Adrienne and pulling her aside.

"I take it we're getting out of here," Adrienne stated, "because I'm at a loss as to how to combat anything like this."

"No, we're not. We are gonna find this Koda and see what is really going on around here," Daniel stated, heading out of the hut.

"Daniel you heard that woman! She said she can't stop the attacks!" Adrienne stormed behind him, not believing what she was hearing, especially considering he was always scolding her about walking into dangerous situations.

"Now you sound like Vala," he replied, maintaining his brisk stride, heading for the village center. Adrienne breathed out and followed, thankful at the very least to be escaping the smell, Vala bringing up the rear, smiling brightly at the realization that she was correct.

Okulo was not happy to see them, a clear indicator to Daniel that his hunch was right.

"Dr. Jackson, I assumed you would be exploring the resource maps that we had given you," he greeted Daniel as soon as they arrived at his hut, bowing his head slowly, not breaking eye contact for a second. Unfazed, Daniel shook his head, walking straight up to face the man.

"Okulo, it has been brought to my attention that we may not be entirely welcome here," Daniel started, Adrienne and Vala standing close behind.

"Dr. Jackson, who has led you to believe such nonsense?" the tribal leader inquired curiously. For the first time since meeting him, Adrienne didn't trust the look on his face, a look that said there was much more to this than it seemed.

"The sister of your wife," he replied curtly. Okulo was speechless but Daniel kept his eyes on the man as he continued.

"We were led to another part of the village. A part that looks much different from what you showed us yesterday. Apparently, your sister believes that not all of the village or the kingdom benefits from your trade agreements. In fact, she claims that we're not the first to come through the chappa'ai and trade with you," Daniel said, rage brewing in the old man's face.

"I can assure you that Koda does not represent this kingdom! She is a bitter woman who is bent on bringing down our entire way of life! " Okulo shouted.

"Well, until I get a chance to have a conversation with this bitter woman, my friends and I will be unable to discuss any trade agreement," Daniel turned to leave, Okulo racing ahead of him, waving his hands wildly.

"Please, please, do not leave, I will have her summoned," Okulo pleaded, glancing over at another of his wives, a younger one, who quickly scurried away to fulfill his request. Daniel peered over at his companions, indicating that they take a seat, the women sitting reluctantly, Vala clearly still concerned about this witch woman and Adrienne utterly confused.

He just hoped his hunch was right.

About ten minutes later the young woman returned, bringing with her a woman the exact image of Oda. Adrienne assumed this must be Koda and reached over to Daniel's hand, subtly mouthing 'Koda' receiving a nod in affirmation.

"Sister," Okulo greeted his sister in law dramatically with a warm embrace, but she didn't seem as pleased to see him, pulling away quickly.

"What do you want Okulo?" she crossed her arms, cutting dark black eyes sharply at him.

"Our guests here seem to think that you are causing some problems, that you want them to leave," Okulo answered, his voice casting a grave warning.

"Why would I do that? You do what you do without any thought of the rest of us. As long as it fills your hut with gold and treasure, you do not seem to care," she hissed at him. Angered, he approached her and for a moment Daniel thought he might strike her, and he moved over to stop his advance, but he didn't, instead baring his teeth and hissing through them.

"Our guests are here to trade and bring prosperity to all of our people. You want that don't you..." he was more insistent this time. Before she could answer, Daniel heard a commotion outside of the hut, turning to see the green curtained door moving away. Their faces grim, Ronon and Teal'c entered, Teal'c dragging a young boy while Ronon held a large and violently shaking burlap bag to his side.

"DanielJackson," Teal'c began, "we found this young man hiding in the bushes near our quarters."

"And he had this pissed off bag of rodents," Ronon added, fighting to control the battle in the sack.

Koda looked at them shocked, her mouth gaping and her attitude changing, Okulo reaching to grab her arms forcefully.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he shouted at her. Daniel stepped to intervene this time but Adrienne held him back, wanting to see what would happen before their presence could cause any more damage. She had listened to him when he had given her that very lesson and quietly reminded him with her gaze.

"You needed to learn. We are tired of only your family benefitting from the traders that come. You lie to each set of traders and they bring you great fortune at our expense and then you sever ties and move onto the next group, keeping the wealth for yourself! It needed to stop!" she pushed him back and walked over to the young boy looking up to glare at Teal'c.

"Unhand my son. He is a child. He did as I asked," she pulled the boy's arm, but Teal'c reached out, bracing the boy with both arms, and away from the woman's touch.

"Your son tried to kill us," he retorted, his voice cool and calm.

"We did not intend to kill you, just scare you away," Koda insisted, pulling her son, who Teal'c slowly released from his grasp.

"Wait," Vala stepped in, "You told that Araya woman to unleash some animal insanity to kill us, she told us."

"That crazy fool. No, she thinks she can do magic, but she is just talk. She has a little talent with illusions, but that is all, she makes herself look younger, desirable, makes you believe her words. I planted an idea in her head, knowing she would tell you or at least tell someone, so between that and the incidents you would think you were cursed and leave," Koda explained.

"There's no curse?" Vala clarified, her eyes darting around the tent, sheepishly, wrong again, or at least partially.

Koda, her face glaring in a way so chilling that Adrienne could never match it, spit onto the ground.

"The only curse on this village is Okulo."

Daniel refrained from chastising Vala as they packed up to leave, but Adrienne could tell that something was on his mind, more than just Vala jumping to conclusions, even though she had been partially correct. The rest of the team packed up, filing out, while Daniel worked slowly, his mind a million miles away.

"You ok?" Adrienne asked as she knelt, placing her hand on his back, her eyes watching for his own arms to go to their typical nervous place, but Daniel didn't even look up, just kept packing, and not talking.

Definitely not like Daniel.

Normally he would be just chatting away, analyzing what had happened, talking about the next mission, but nothing.

"Addy to Indy. Are you in there shug?" she played, sitting back on her heels hoping he would respond.

"Yeah," he answered finally, "I had just hoped this would work out a bit better, but we can't start trading with a world that has this many internal issues." He shrugged, placing the last of his gear into the pack. Shaking her head, knowing it was more than that, Adrienne rubbed his back lightly, patting it gently before pulling her hand away.

"Daniel, Sam did say we'll send a team in a month or so to see if they've made any changes now that the village council knows what he was doing. We might get that trade agreement, it'll just take a little longer," Adrienne offered, but he still looked upset. Reaching over Adrienne squeezed his hand, peering over to look into his face, to read his face, to read him like she had gotten so good as doing.

Something else was wrong.

"What's really bothering you?" she pushed him to talk, gently, sitting back on her heels again as she faced him. After all, wasn't this what she was hired for, to problem solve, trouble shoot and help him? Plus, they were friends now and friends talked to one another and he had made it clear not too long ago that he did feel like she might be someone he can talk to.

Relenting, Daniel let out a sigh and looked around to make sure the other team members had cleared out completely. She said anytime and now was as just as good a time as any. His hunch had been right; there had been no curse, no magic, just a simple case of one group of people taking advantage of another.

"Every time I step through that gate I hope to find a people that just treat one another they way they're supposed to, with kindness and caring, but almost every planet is the same," he admitted quietly, visibly upset, "it's depressing. It shouldn't bother me but it always does."

Taken aback, he had really confided in her, something that was almost as emotionally personal as talking about Shar'e, Adrienne sat in silence for a moment unsure as to what she should say. Something had changed between then and not just the fact that just a few short hours ago they had made love, something was stronger, closer.

Was Daniel searching for a Utopia or did he just want to find decent people? People that didn't take advantage of one another, people that cared about one another, like he did. Peeking over her shoulder to see if they were truly alone, especially Vala, who was still thoroughly enjoying her partial correctness, Adrienne put down her pack and staff weapon and wrapped her arms around him hugging him tightly.

"Sometimes good people have a hard time realizing that not everyone else is. Truly good people get their hearts broken because they do. Just know that no matter what, I love you and I hope you can count on me to be there for you when your heart is broken," she whispered quietly in his ear, kissing his cheek softly. Slowly, not wanting to but having no choice, she let go, reaching back over for her things and standing to leave. Smiling slightly, she offered him her hand, which he took gratefully, rising to stand beside her.

"Thanks Ad," he said quietly, reaching out for her and taking her into his arms, "I love you too."

"You called me Ad," she quipped, winking. Confused, his permanent state with her it seemed, Daniel frowned, peering at her over his glasses.

"That's your name last I checked..." he trailed, pushing his glasses up his face, but she was beginning to laugh harder, shaking her head.

"Just finish opening it when you get back..." she replied, raising her eyebrows as she pushed the brown curtain away to exit the tent. Completely lost, Daniel paused for a moment, when it clicked, and he tore off behind, chasing her down.

"Wait, wait, that was a test!? You wanted to see if I opened it! Adrienne! Addy! Ad! Dammit, wait up!"

It was late Earth time, but Daniel just didn't feel like going to bed; he was still too worked up over the mission and the lengthy briefing that followed. Clicking on the light to the lab, he decided to work for a little while longer and then just crash in his on base quarters. He had told Adrienne she could have the night off, after assuring her that he was going to be just fine, despite her obvious concern and constant protest. Finally she just gave up on him and left, grabbing a few things from her desk and heading to her own on base quarters, still fussing on her way out of the door.

Cracking his neck as he walked over to his desk, Daniel saw the box, remembering his mysterious gift, a warmer feeling taking over his mission failure melancholy. He pushed the thoughts aside, forgetting the tribe for a moment as he lifted the lid the box. He couldn't help but smile as he read the note again, the note signed 'Ad', apparently for no other reason than to see if he had paid attention to her.

Of course it was a test; why would he ever think anything else?

Setting it aside, he started to pull the remaining tissue away, piece by never ending piece, only to discover another note and more tissue. He was puzzled, this gift had been wrapped entirely too well, what in the world had she hidden in this depth of wrapping and mess? Opening the second small folded piece of paper, Daniel scanned Adrienne's messy script, scribbled roughly from what he knew to be a lack of handwriting in her daily life.

_Technically__** I'm**__ supposed to carry these..._

Baffled he set that note aside as well and pulled away the remainder of the tissue.

What in the world could she be talking about?

Peering down into the box, he saw that inside were two halves of coconut, hollowed out and dried. It took him only a moment to register the reference and when he did he pulled them quickly out of the box, clacking them together and erupting into laughter. There was a shine from the bottom of the container, bright enough to catch his eye. He set the coconut halves aside to discover that underneath of them had been placed a small silver shot glass with another slip of paper tucked carefully inside. Frowning, he pulled that paper out as well, unfolding it, seeing more chaotic lettering.

_You heard them this time, right?_

_Drink_

Not bothering with his computer, or any work at all, having completely forgotten what he had come down here to do to take his mind off of everything in the first place, Daniel just grabbed the coconut halves and shot glass, heading back out into the hall, pulling the lab door closed behind him.

He hoped she was still up because all he could think of was pressing his lips again to hers.


	5. Chapter 5 - Erotic Alt to Expectations

_I just couldn't put this in the side stories even though it lacks the action of the others. It is the companion story to #24._

_Just remember, there is a reason for everything and the devil is in the details :) _

_And Daniel & Adrienne are their own worst enemies... (this provides for great comedy and action soon) _

_Enjoy! _

_EROTIC VERSION _

Daniel heard the laughing as soon as he turned the corner from the gateroom on the way back from yet another meeting with Rodney about the personal shield. It was Adrienne, lead discoverer of said shield and that particular laugh meant that she had a visitor, a specific visitor, the only visitor that made her laugh like that...

"No way, you can't be serious!?" Adrienne giggled, "What did Sheppard say?"

"Nothing, what could he say? He just stepped over the wraith and got back into the puddle jumper," Daniel could hear him reply as he slowed his pace, trying not to eavesdrop but unable to help himself.

It tore him up inside, hearing her like that, so happy, but it's exactly what he had been hoping for for weeks, exactly what he was hoping would happen. He'd tried to keep his distance lately, as much as possible without her assuming something was wrong, making a conscious effort to slowly push his assistant in that direction, toward the strong and capable alien man and away from him. Feelings aside, it wasn't healthy, their relationship, a man and a woman shouldn't behave the way that they do and walk around claiming that they were just friends.

Advancing his step, Daniel turned around the door frame to see Adrienne sitting at her desk, her palm against Ronon's bare bicep as he was wearing his Sateaden gear rather than his SG uniform. Of course he was, Daniel thought with disgust, trying to regulate his jealously as he started to list to himself the reasons that this was what needed to happen, that he was too old, that he was her boss, that she was too perfect, that he just couldn't do this again. Silent, and trying to not cut his eyes, he walked right by them, taking a seat at his own desk, sliding the meeting folder into a pile on the side and firing up his machine.

"Alright, so six o'clock, that's good?" Ronon confirmed.

"Yea, it sounds great. And I don't need to bring anything special..." Adrienne doubled checked, eyeing her suitor suspiciously.

"Not a thing," Ronon replied, leaning over to hug her goodbye, which of course she returned, kissing his cheek lightly before he pulled away, a shy smile on his face as he backed out of the door. Her eyes followed him until he was gone, finally looking over at Daniel at her guests complete exit.

"Hey Indy, no bad 3D greek epic on Friday. I'll have to owe ya," she said, leaning back in her chair smiling brightly.

"Oh?" he asked, but he knew why. He knew what had just happened; he had been trying to make it happen for a while now and she must have finally given in.

_It's what needs to happen; you need to get yourself under control and be happy for her. _

"Yes..." Adrienne leaned back in her chair, grinning from ear to ear, her gorgeous eyes lighting the dark room with excitement, "I have a date."

_Look how happy she is; be happy for her, let her relish in this. She deserves this. _

_Adrienne should be happy._

"Well, I hope you have fun. I was thinking about catching up on some personal paperwork myself," Daniel answered, trying to not make her feel bad about canceling their typical 'single with no life' Friday plans, trying to be supportive of his best friend, because that was exactly what she was going to stay, his best friend.

No matter what his heart wanted otherwise.

'"Oh," this time Adrienne answered, a tinge of disappointment in her voice, like she was looking for a different reaction.

Daniel was completely confused.

"Is that a bad thing?" he looked at her and asked, peering over his glasses.

_What does she want me to say? _

_Don't go? _

_Ask me instead? _

_I'll take you wherever you want to go..._

Stop listening to Jack, Daniel ordered himself, he's not the expert on relationships by a long shot. He hadn't told Jack, he hadn't told anyone about his realization from a few weeks ago, his realization that everyone was right, that he had unwittingly fallen in love with his assistant.

Which apparently was ok as long as he didn't really do anything about it.

_And such is my life story..._

"No, it's just, well, we can hang out on Saturday, ok?" she said quickly. That was it, he was reading too much into this; she just didn't want to hurt his feelings. Fridays had really become their night so to speak, where they picked something nerdy, geeky, something the rest of the group would never agree to do and she had scheduled her date for then. He had allowed that little tradition to continue these past few weeks, however he had been making excuses to have to go back to his own apartment when whatever film or dinner was over, feeling that spending the night at hers was no longer appropriate. It was sweet that she thought of him, that was touching. She did really care about him, they were like siblings in some respects, and it was considerate of her to worry about him.

"Sure Saturday is fine," he agreed.

_Unless you and Dex have too much fun..._

_Great Daniel, now you're thinking like Vala; let's just let the insanity completely take over your brain. _

Turning back to his desk, he grabbed the mission file for next week, trying not to think about Adrienne's big night a moment longer. He looked back at his rather lengthy to do list and sighed, being that it was only Wednesday, starting back at his tasks.

The week passed uneventfully, no off world mission scheduled until the following Tuesday. He and Adrienne spent the majority of their time preparing for the briefing and making sure that the mission files were all in order. Pretty boring, even boring for Daniel, so much so that he let her start dance breaks every few hours or so just to make sure that they were getting up. He didn't join her at first, but after finishing three pots of coffee on Thursday before 11 a.m. he decided to try her method, just making sure he shut the lab door before he did.

He just didn't dance.

Or stand near her.

Or let her dance up to him.

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Friday at 10 a.m., Adrienne stood from her desk, walking over to the speaker, standing on her tiptoes to turn on the iPod and an awful song came on; one that Daniel remembered from his college years was sung by two little boys who wore their clothes backwards. He shook his head, but stood from his desk, walking over to close the door.

"See," Adrienne said as she grabbed his hands, pulling him over to her, "isn't this much more fun!" Yesterday he hadn't danced per se, he couldn't dance at all really, much to her amusement, but he had gotten up and let her dance around, while he stood and stretched his legs, but now, now she tried to pull him closer, very close, so he pulled away, nerves building up inside.

"Not so close; I wouldn't want Dex to come down here and beat me to a pulp," Daniel tried to tease as Adrienne backed away slowly, looking hurt.

¨Why must you insist on harassing me? You got your way, didn't you? I'm dating like a normal person," Adrienne said as she let go of his hands, dancing around back to her desk as Daniel forced a laugh and shut off the music.

"I didn't say I wanted you to date; I said I wanted you to be happy," he clarified, covering, trying not to be obvious as Adrienne just sat down at her desk giving him a funny look.

_Bad word choice genius._

He tried not to notice, tried not to overanalyze as she stared at him in silence, something obviously on her mind.

_She knows, she sees right through you..._

"Can I call you? Afterwards, to tell you how it went?" she finally asked, hesitation in her voice.

"Call me?" Daniel asked puzzled, "why?" Honestly, the last thing he wanted to hear was how great Ronon Dex was and how much she was looking forward to their next date. Just because he wanted to push her in that direction didn't mean he actually wanted to know what had happened.

"You know why, we're not 12, I don't think I need to repeat it," she responded smartly, Daniel sighing, because apparently part of the best friend deal was calling him after a date. He hesitated to agree; shouldn't she call Vala with all of the gory details? Then again, this was Adrienne, so he was sure that any details to be had would be rather mild and definitely not interesting like Vala would want. For as wild as she was, she had admitted to him more or less that she really didn't have that much experience in the romance department, not that they had had a lot of those kinds of conversations, but he could read between the lines and infer.

"Sure, if you want. You know I'll probably be up," he answered, internal debate over.

_I'll be supportive; if I want this to work I have to be there for her. _

Adrienne smiled and nodded in appreciation.

At five, she didn't have much to say. Ronon was picking her up at six, which meant that Adrienne must be meeting him on base since her apartment was about fifty minutes away and with her track record of getting to places on time it appeared she hadn't even bothered considering going home. Daniel didn't ask, as she was already rushing around to lab, trying to shut down her own personal things and leave, like a wild frantic rabbit trying to make a desperate escape. When she dropped her plastic coffee mug on the floor of the lab, a few remaining cold mocha droplets splashing around her feet, he couldn't contain himself and he laughed, her cold penetrating glare darting in his direction.

"If he knows you like I do he knows that you won't be on time," Daniel kidded, standing to try to help her make her exit a bit faster. She tried not to laugh, but she knew he was right and bent down to clean up her coffee mess, Daniel shooing her away quickly to take care of it himself. Smiling at the gesture, Adrienne stood, shutting the lid to her computer and popping in into the bag on her shoulder, as he stood himself, disregarding the spill for a moment to start to push her out of the door by her shoulders.

"Go, go get ready. At least one of us should have a social life," he insisted. Adrienne stalled only enough to adjust her backpack her eyes locking on his for a split second, looking as if she wanted to say something.

_Say it, say it and I can come up with a work excuse; say you don't want to go..._

"Wish me luck," she requested instead, a nervous grin in place of her normally enchanting smile. Daniel squeezed her hand in reassurance, forcing another smile as Adrienne took a breath and slipped out of the lab.

"This'll be for the best, you'll see," he coached himself verbally before returning to his desk.

It was quiet at his apartment but he welcomed the silence, not even turning on the radio for background noise, relishing in the complete lack of sound encompassing him.

He was totally alone.

True, Cameron had offered for him to come over to his place and watch some boxing match on pay-per-view, but Daniel wasn't in the mood to feign an interest in sports, so, he told the truth, that he was going to use tonight to go through some things in his apartment he had been putting off for a while. Cam had even offered to come help, keep him company, but Daniel refused, needing to spend the time alone just in case his thoughts got the best of him, or if Adrienne needed him. There was always a chance that the date itself could go horribly wrong and she would call him first, he knew she would, so it was best he remain sober, alert and in one place.

So there he was, sober, alert and in once place staring at the Teal'c sized pile of paper boxes lined up on his table. He'd waited too long to go through these old files, missions kept popping up, a crisis that needed attention, but here they were, in front of him, with nothing to stop him now. The prospect of spending his evening doing this was not exactly his idea of Friday night fun, even he found some tasks boring, but these were things that needed to be done. That and it had the added bonus that it would take his mind off the of fact that right now, at seven o'clock in the evening, Adrienne was probably sitting in some nice restaurant, sipping Italian table wine while Ronon regaled her with stories of fighting the wraith, saving small children, rescuing damsels in distress, robbing the rich to feed the poor...

"You have got to pull yourself together, this is ridiculous," he breathed out, annoyed, exasperated by his behavior. Shaking his head, he glanced back at the files, his distraction for the evening, his salvation for the evening. He scanned the boxes, noting the dates on the sides, realizing that some of the files were so old they were notes he had made on Abydoys and had brought back with him. Those he had avoided for a reason. Another pain welling up inside of him, he set that box on the floor, trying not to think about that either.

He had a turmoil limit for tonight, and he was nearly at that limit.

He had successfully worked though one entire box, mostly of old receipts and other things he couldn't figure out why he had saved, when there was a knock at his door. Peeking over at the clock, Daniel saw that it was 10 p.m.

Who in the world would be coming over at 10 p.m?

Vala, of course, was his first thought, determined to have her way with him, but she couldn't drive legally so he quickly eliminated her. Jack was working, Teal'c off world, so it could be Sam, but he had no way of knowing, so he just shrugged his shoulders, putting down the stack of papers and walking over to the door, looking through the peephole.

There was Adrienne, wearing jeans and one of those stupid hole filled sweaters she liked to wear, not at all what he had imagined her to be wearing for her big night with Mr. Perfect, waiting patiently for him to answer. Her body language though was different, her arms were crossed, hugging herself, a worried look on her face.

_Shouldn't she be on a date?_

But he didn't hesitate, opening the door to see what was wrong.

"Hey Daniel," she said quietly, "can I come in?"

No Indy, he thought to himself, that wasn't a good sign.

"Sure Adrienne, is everything alright?" he answered, choosing to avoid her nickname himself, stepping back from the door to let her in. She entered without another word, walking right past him heading straight into the kitchen. Closing the door, and locking it behind him, Daniel went to follow her, concerned that she was not acting like herself, at all. He heard the fridge opening but wasn't surprised or annoyed, they were together enough where 'Can I get you something?' had turned into 'I'm getting myself something.' Peeking his head around the corner, he saw that she had found a bottle of chardonnay chilling in the back, and pulled it out, turning back to face him.

"Can I open this?" she asked, shaking the bottle.

"Be my guest," he replied and headed back to the table, letting her serve herself, wondering what she was doing here, but he could tell by her determination to pour an alcoholic beverage that she would talk when she was good and ready. There was a small tinge of anger building up inside of him, not at Adrienne, but at Ronon, who he hoped hadn't tried anything or done anything to hurt her.

He'd better not have hurt her.

Grabbing the stack of papers that he had set down, Daniel sorted through a small pile and started to grab another when he saw a wine glass being handed to him. Gazing up, he took it and turned to face her, waiting for whatever she finally had to say.

"Don't ever let me do that again," Adrienne requested and sipped her wine as she reached down to grab a chair from the table, pulling it out, and sitting down, sipping again as soon as she was seated. She didn't look like herself, her bright, glowing self; she looked exasperated and stressed.

"Go out on a date or go out on a date with Ronon?" Daniel asked, pulling out the other chair and sitting himself. He moved the boxes back a bit so they would have somewhere to set their glasses and could see Adrienne shaking her head, sipping once more, laughing softly.

"Either," she answered, as she set down her glass, sliding off her boots. Daniel took a breath; she was getting settled, this was going to be either really good or really bad, and he honestly didn't know if he was capable of handling either.

"Ok, I'm assuming this is taking the place of the phone call. I'm listening," Daniel offered, drinking his wine, a feeling that he was going to need it as Adrienne lightly ran her finger around the rim of the glass slowly, deliberately, toying with it in a nervous fashion.

"Well, he told me not to do anything special or wear anything special, which was a huge relief since I just wasn't in the mood for anything formal. So I wore this," Adrienne began. Daniel, who knew nothing of fashion and was sure Adrienne knew how he felt about some of her attire, just nodded.

"So, we went to Ruth Chris, a steakhouse right, nice, but casual and he borrowed Sheppard's car, so he drove, we just left from base," Adrienne continued and Daniel threw up his hands in a so what gesture. Adrienne, not amused, made a face.

"We get there, he opens the door, well the doors, for me, sweet, all very nice, and we're seated quickly because he had actually made reservations, which was again well thought out. And then it got, interesting..." she said, trailing, her finger lapping the rim a tad faster.

"Interesting how?" Daniel asked, sipping his wine, his heart rate increasing ever so slightly. What had happened, she wasn't crying, she was just so unlike herself, no cajun slip-ups or something. He pointed to her glass, indicating that if this was that interesting she needed to take another drink. Halting her wandering digit, she reached again gently for the stem, bringing the glass to her mouth and sipping carefully.

"Well, for starters he ordered for me. Everything. My drink, my meal, how my steak was cooked, everything," she said, making a sour face.

"That's called nice," Daniel responded, "and he's trying to show you that he knows you. That he pays attention to detail. Did he get it right?"

"Yea," Adrienne admitted, frowning at him.

"Ok, keep going," Daniel goaded, his brain finally kicking over to where he needed it to be, to friend mode, to his helpful persona, the one who was always there for others. See, you've got this, he praised himself, taking another taste of the wine.

"Alright, so while we wait of course we're talking. Now, we usually talk about stupid stuff, fighting, war stories, crazy things, I dunno superficial things. I guess I didn't think in advance that he would want to talk about something more serious," Adrienne stopped for a moment and finished her glass of wine in one long gulp, standing to get some more. He heard her pouring herself a glass in the kitchen, but brought the bottle back out, filling Daniel's glass as well, which was also empty, much to his surprise. Lifting the glass gratefully as soon as she set the bottle down beside him, he took another long drink as she sat, ignoring the wine and picking at her fingernails. He remained silent as she did this, wondering at what point this date was going to go bad, so far, it sounded pretty perfect and that alone was making his stomach do somersaults. Setting the glass down, he brought his right hand into his lap, scraping his thumbnail with his index finger.

"So, we get to talking, about more serious things. First, he wanted to know more about what you and I did, which is fine and kinda sweet because no one asks that really since we are considered the two boring ones," Daniel smiled a bit at that as she continued, "I told him and then he started to ask me if I'd ever find another job. Odd question I'm thinking but ok, let's entertain this. I tell him no, at least not right now. I like what I do and I'm happy. He lets that go for a while when our food arrives," Adrienne said and sipped again, Daniel already shaking his head.

"Again, this is normal date conversation; have you ever been on a normal date?" Daniel asked her, trying not to mock her too badly, the look on his face though giving him away. If this was what she called a bad date he was actually curious as to what it would take to be qualified as a good one.

"Of course I have jackass; I'm not finished," Adrienne fussed, chugging, emptying, refilling and finishing the bottle.

"Carry on," he swept the air with his palm, taking another sip himself.

"We do dinner, he pays for the check, gets the chair, the door, the car door, etc. All of which were awkward," she complained.

"No, all of which were normal Adrienne; not everything nice a man does for you should be considered an attack on your independence," Daniel stated plainly, having no idea whatsoever what was wrong with her, even more mystified as Adrienne stood and walked to the kitchen.

"Are you leaving? Seriously? Ad, you need to calm down, I was just joking with you" Daniel stood to follow her, amazed that being honest with her, which was normally what she wanted, would make her leave.

"Wow, I thought you knew me better Indy. I'm not leaving; I'm getting something to eat," she explained, rolling her eyes at his assumption as she opened the freezer door.

Daniel leaned back against the counter relieved; as much as he didn't want to hear about how Ronon Dex was the perfect gentleman, whether Adrienne really realized it or not, he also didn't want her to leave.

He never wanted her to leave.

He never wanted her out of his sight.

Hearing rustling from the appliance, he peeked up to see Adrienne rummaging around, finally producing a small container of ice cream with a smile. Shutting the door and scooting past him, she secured herself a spoon from the cutlery drawer, jumping up to sit on the counter. She popped off the lid, tossing it over into the sink and took a few bites, stuffing the spoon down into the frozen treat and passing it over to Daniel, who took it without hesitation.

"So," he continued as he dug for some ice cream himself, "I'm still waiting for the catch," he added as put the spoon in his mouth. Sighing, Adrienne reached back for the ice cream, so Daniel dropped the spoon back in and relinquished the carton.

"Then he took me out to the mall, the museum one not the shopping one," Daniel nodded thinking this was Adrienne, he didn't need clarification, "and the talk starting getting serious again. He starts asking me what I want out of life. And of course I have no idea, all I really wanted was..." Adrienne started to choke up a bit. Daniel took a step towards her but she held out her hand, not wanting him to start with her right now as she breathed in deeply, squeezing the cow patterned container in her palms.

"All I wanted, for so long, was for dad to be ok. Then he was gone and my life was so empty and then Sam called. Sam called and changed my life. So, no, I have no idea what I want next. Because all I had wanted was to be happy. And I am, just the way things are right now."

Adrienne sucked back some tears but Daniel stayed put, not sure what to do, his thoughts finally on her well-being and not himself, not his selfish desire and idiotic fantasies. He wanted to walk across the small space between the counters and take her into his arms, just to comfort her, but he refrained as she started to eat the ice cream again.

"I take it he has a more clear direction for his life?" Daniel took a stab, cautiously, hoping to not upset her more. Swallowing Adrienne stuffed the spoon back into the carton and then handed the ice cream over again.

"Yes, very clear. Very very very clear. With contingency plans for either returning to Pegasus or staying here. Clear plans that I got the distinct feeling were supposed to include me..." Adrienne put her head in her hands and this time, unable to hold out any longer, Daniel walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. It was something he hadn't done in weeks but he just felt that he needed to do right now. Sucking back a few more sniffles, she reached her arms around him as well, resting her head onto his shoulder.

"He scared you," Daniel finished and Adrienne didn't move, letting herself lean forward into him from her position on the counter.

"A little," she replied.

"Do you think you'll go out with him again?" Daniel asked, the part of him that he had been trying to quiet all night hoping her answer was no.

"I dunno," Adrienne admitted, still from his shoulder, "I guess I just wanted more adventure, more fun. I was thinking paintball and Chili's or a good 3D movie and then a comedy club. Indy, I think Dex is looking for a wife and not a date."

"Leave it to you to want adventure," Daniel teased, loosening his grip slightly, and leaving the other comment alone. Acknowledging it would have certainly led to Adrienne growing more upset, possibly even lecturing him on the role of women in society and the absurdity of the institution of marriage. Feeling him start to pull away, Adrienne picked up her head and released her arms, gazing up at him slowly. Her eyes, her deep dark eyes entrapped him for a moment, and he almost reached for her face to bring it to his own and kiss her, the urge so great he had to step away. Remembering his earlier task, he turned, Daniel peering back at her as he left the kitchen, a sure fire plan forming in his head to get her mind off of the entire fiasco.

"Where are you going?" she shouted to him, confused by his sudden exit.

"I'm gonna finish sorting. It's not very adrenaline pumping, but you're welcome to join me," he answered, walking over to the box he had been working at, focusing on the documents neatly stacked in a state of false organization. Adrienne shook her head, hopping down and walking back over to Daniel, because of course, he would have more work to do.

"You better have more wine," she demanded.

"No worries; I've learned I need to be well stocked as long as we are friends. Cabinet by the fridge," he pointed and Adrienne turned around, very silly and dramatically heading for the cabinet. Grabbing some red, too impatient to chill another white, she headed back to assist in the task, her mind already leaving behind Ronon's pseudo-proposal.

"You literally keep everything," she told him as she balled up another gas receipt tossing it away. They had been at this for a while now, and on another bottle of wine now, more so on Adrienne's part than Daniel's, and she felt a lot better just being here with him, like she always did.

"I know, that's why I needed to do this. It was getting a bit out of control," he admitted, setting the last empty box back onto the table to be dismantled and taken to the recycling bin in the morning. Muttering something under her breath about 'out of control' and 'only you Indy,' Adrienne gathered up the large trash bag at her feet and poured herself another glass of wine.

"But, it has allowed me to discover more fuel for the fire," Adrienne quickly added as she set the garbage beside the recycling pile to go out in the morning, pointing playfully to a stack of pictures sitting on the table. Remembering their contents, Daniel reached for them, but Adrienne snatched them quickly, still laughing.

"Come on, I know I was a dork, am a dork. Some of us can't be the cool mysterious academic," Daniel defending, reaching for the photos again. Adrienne just giggled and stood showing a few old SG pics from years ago; Daniel skinny and geeky, with zinc on his nose and a cheesy hat. The pictures clearly embarrassed him and Adrienne was enjoying seeing him flush but when he frowned at her, she handed them over and he yanked them away, walking them over to a photo box and stuffing them inside.

"No worries Indy, your secret's safe with me. Besides, I didn't think they looked that bad, you seem more worried by them than I do. I think you looked kinda cute," she said, walking over to kiss his cheek before returning her wine glass to the kitchen.

That was fun, she thought to herself, leave it to Daniel to turn boring into fun. She turned back around to suggest a movie when she saw a box on the kitchen floor, tucked underneath the table as though it had been missed. Kneeling down, she picked it up and set is carefully on their workstation.

"We forgot one," she said, removing the lid and starting to pull items out but Daniel dashed over to it, moving Adrienne's hands away and taking the box.

"Not that one," he said quickly, grabbing the handles of the box, starting to walk it away, toward the office in his apartment, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Knowing the source of the hand, he stopped; she wasn't going to let him escape.

"If you hadn't intended on trying to tackle that one you wouldn't have brought it out in the first place. More embarrassing photos?" Adrienne tried to play, but she wasn't stupid; she knew what was in that box, she'd been here enough and been friends with him long enough to know that he had kept things and that they were hidden here.

"No," he said quietly, shaking his head, slipping away from her light grasp. Adrienne didn't chase him down, just starting picking at her nails, trying to figure out what to say.

"Well, if you need to do it and just need someone for support, I'm here," she offered, returning to the table, grabbing his glass to continue cleaning up, not another word, not a single argument.

Pausing, Daniel looked down at the box in his hands.

_I need to do this; I need to face this and I can do it with her. _

_I can do anything with her._

He started to choke up for a moment, a hurricane of emotions raving his soul, all that was left of the first woman he truly loved right here in his hands while the one he loved and could never have stood right behind him, waiting, offering, being everything he needed her to be, when suddenly he had a thought. He could do this, here and now with Adrienne's support and she could see, she would understand that he was broken, a non-possibility, would never be an option. Ronon wouldn't even be necessary, this exercise alone could keep her away, keep her out of his reach. Decision made, he walked back out the dining nook, setting the box onto the table and starting to pull out items. He heard footsteps and felt a hand resting on his shoulder, knowing that it was Adrienne, right there, ready to assist. Tossing the lid aside, he peered in to see that at the top of the box were journals, four of them. Daniel opened them one by one, scanning their front covers as he addressed his assistant.

"This one," he handed over to Adrienne, "and these two have some words that are really specific to the dialect that Kasuf's people spoke. I haven't encountered it since, but I think they should be kept with my other language journals." Adrienne took them without a word and walked them over to Daniel's messenger bag, which was sitting on the sofa, tucking them inside. When she got back she saw him standing there holding one in his hands, staring wordlessly at the volume. Reaching over slowly she put her hand over his on the journal, interlacing their fingers the best she could with the book in their way.

"I know; that one's personal," she said, gazing up at him with a soft smile, "I'll put it in your room." Daniel held it tight for just a second, looking up at Adrienne, the words 'I love you' trapped on his lips unable to escape as he willed them in place. Relinquishing the journal, she took it gently from his grasp, leaning over, kissing his cheek softly, whispering, "I've got this Daniel," into his ear. He let go and Adrienne rushed to the bedroom as he let out a deep breath and sat back down in his seat from earlier.

Adrienne didn't read the journal; she knew what it was and it just made her hurt for him. He was such a wonderful man, she cared so much about him and she wished she could take his pain away. For what felt like an eternity, she stood in his bedroom trying to figure out where to put the volume. She thought his nightstand might do, but then he would pull it out and obsess over it; she knew how he was. She didn't want to hide it from him, but she did want it to be out of sight enough not to drive him mad.

Suddenly, she had a thought.

Opening the bottom drawer of his dresser, the one he barely kept anything in, save for a few shirts he never wore, she slid it inside and over to the far corner, covering it lightly with a cream colored sweater. When she returned to the dining nook, Daniel was sitting in front of the box, his head in his hands so Adrienne walked over to him, pulling up the chair close beside him. Glancing at her, a deep sadness in his eyes, she reached out to squeeze his knee, cocking her head at the box so he would continue. Taking her direction, he looked back over to the box and began to pull out the rest of the items.

Adrienne helped him go through each one, sorting what needed to be kept and what needed to go. As the time passed, she tried to make jokes and Daniel actually began telling stories of crazy things the men in the village would trick him into doing. They laughed, went through the box and drank more wine, Adrienne deciding that he needed it now more than she had earlier, having a much better time of it. Daniel was just finishing a story of how Skaara had gotten him to ride a large bison like animal, without a saddle, resulting in his repeated face plants into the desert, when he reached into the box and pulled out a bracelet, dropping to silence as he held the large leather cuff in his hands.

"It's nice," Adrienne said, pulling her legs up and crossing them in the chair like she did when she was uncomfortable, her hands already picking away at her nails.

"She gave it to me," Daniel admitted aloud what Adrienne already knew but she let him talk, "She said that women weren't supposed to normally give men gifts in the village, but that we weren't a normal couple," he smiled a bit and Adrienne just nodded.

"I wore it every day, until they took her. Then I just couldn't bear it anymore," Daniel sunk his head into his hands again, trying not to cry. Noticing his reaction along with the deep swallow, the chewing on his bottom lip, his tells, Adrienne uncrossed her legs and reached for him, pulling him into her arms.

"It's ok to be sad. You loved her and it seems that she really loved you. She sounds like a pretty cool chic," Adrienne said from his shoulder as she hugged him tightly and he didn't pull away, just let her comfort him, let her hold him. I love you so much, he said to no one at all, nodding his head to her statement in agreement.

"You would have gotten along well with her," Daniel answered, controlling himself, clearing his throat. Adrienne felt him start to pull away and she let go, watching his blue eyes in the dim light of the living room gaze over at the bracelet, those beautiful eyes of his so full of hurt. For all of the fun they had, all of the good times in the lab, there was a part of him that was just always so sad and she wished she could take it all away, more so than she had ever wanted to help anyone else before.

_Daniel I want to make it all better for you..._

Confused by her thoughts, Adrienne shook her head, reaching over and taking the bracelet from him, sliding it gently onto his wrist, interlocking their fingers as she gazed into his eyes.

_His beguiling eyes... _

_Please don't cry Daniel; I'm here and I swear it will never happen again. _

She had the urge to lean forward, to hug him again, to kiss his full lips, but shook her head quickly, letting go before the wine took over her senses.

"Indy it's 2 a.m. and we've been tearing through your wine supply, so I'm going to crash here, ok? Where are the extra pillows?" Adrienne stood declaring, wanting to escape, but not really escape...

_I'll fix it Daniel..._

Rubbing his eyes under his glasses, as though he had been in some sort of trance himself, Daniel stood, leaving the bracelet on his wrist and grabbing the now empty box.

"Thanks Ad," he said and walked the box over to the pile, the moment gone, Adrienne scolding herself already for her foolishness.

"Hey, you listened to me whine about Ronon's secret plot to secure himself a spouse, so I think we're even," Adrienne smiled and began to clean up the wine glasses for the second time tonight as Daniel slipped away to his room and by the time Adrienne was drying the glasses to put them away there he was standing at the kitchen entrance a t-shirt and pajama pants in hand.

"You can't sleep in that fishing net," he said, running his finger up and down at her attire. Laughing, Adrienne took his offering, starting to head for the sofa when he grabbed her arm.

"You still owe me something stupid in 3D tomorrow, well, today now," Daniel told her, "which won't happen if you sleep on the sofa. You won't sleep, I know you." Adrienne looked confused, but Daniel had started to assume that her fear of sleeping by doors must have to do with a fear of someone bursting in and his living room housed the front door. He pointed to the bedroom.

"You there, I'll take the couch. And, I'll pick the movie. Deal?" he asked.

"Sounds good, night sha," she smiled, heading for his room. He could have slept there with her, he did that a lot, well, he used to do that a lot, but in the past few weeks they hadn't done that, which was strange, in fact Adrienne had begun to think something was wrong. Smiling, things feeling back to normal, or somewhat, Adrienne redirected herself to his bedroom, slipping inside and pulling the door closed behind her.

Covering herself up with the blanket, Adrienne leaned across to his nightstand to shut out the light, cuddling down on his pillow. She looked back out to the living room and again she felt bad that Daniel was sleeping on his own sofa, his six foot frame stuffed on the much smaller piece of furniture, all just to make her happy, to ease her fears. She didn't understand why he didn't just come in here, but she thought it probably had to do with Jack's harassment lately and if that was the case she understood, after all, Vala had kicked it up a notch herself and was already accusing her of only going out with Ronon as a cover.

Flipping onto her side, reaching for the extra pillow to bring it into her arms, she thought about the events of the evening. At least their night had made up for the date, but in reality, the date wasn't that awful. Ronon was so sweet and he was very open and honest with her and looking back she appreciated that a lot.

Then why was she so upset?

Why did it all feel so wrong to her?

She rolled over onto her stomach, when she felt something hard push into her side, reaching under herself to pull out a canvas bound journal, pen tucked inside. Daniel, you even sleep with a journal, she thought, chuckling, stretching to set it on the nightstand.

And then it hit her.

She hadn't had a bad date at all; she had a perfectly good date.

She had perfectly good dream date, discussing things that she never really thought she would want to talk about, but with the wrong man.

Because the right man was asleep on his couch in the other room.

Adrienne gazed up at the door, her heart in complete turmoil.

"Oh my god," she whispered to herself running the thought through her head. Not even two years ago she sat at her father's bedside making promises that she only hoped she could keep, that she'd never give up, that she'd never forget what he had taught her, that she'd let herself be happy. She was, she was finally happy; she was happy with Daniel.

_I'm in love with Daniel. _

_He's my boss. _

_How did this happen? _

Adrienne Rowan, the queen of sleep, tossed and turned in Daniel's bed, awake and wondering.

She was wearing his shirt, the pants had been too big, and panties but she didn't bother to cover herself as she trudged out of bed, making her way for the door. Sighing, she walked out into the living room, peering over the sofa to discover that Daniel couldn't sleep either, staring right back up at her.

"Can't sleep there either?" he asked.

"No," she answered, tiptoeing around the end of the sofa to take a seat at his feet. He sat up so she wouldn't fall off allowing her to scoot closer to him.

"Addy, are you alright?" he asked, puzzled by her strange behavior.

"Come to bed with me," she said quietly, allowing her words to say what her heart was screaming.

"What?" he asked, confused.

She took in a slight breath and composed her thoughts.

"Come to bed with me," she repeated, reaching for his hand.

"Oh," he replied, starting to catch her meaning.

She wanted to 'go to bed' with him..

She stood and he followed, their hands still lightly clasped at the fingers. She started to get in and looked behind herself to see if he was going to follow and he did, walking around the other side and pulling up the blankets, sliding himself under them. His heart racing, he glanced over at her but she just smiled and moved her body close to him. He lifted his arm and she nuzzled into his chest, slipping her arm around his waist and he felt her wrap her leg over his, making him shiver.

The leg pulled away.

"Sorry, too far," Adrienne apologized, "I'm not going all Vala on you hun, I just wanted to be close."

He kissed her head, shaking his own. He wanted to be close to her too but he didn't say a word, instead turned his body so he could hold her closer. She let him and he could feel her breath at his neck, her legs moving instantly to entangle themselves with his.

"I could stay like this forever," she whispered when she was settled, her gentle lips pressing against his t-shirt clad chest.

"Me too," he answered her back instantly and almost as instant he felt her pull away, gazing into his eyes.

"Really?" she asked, doubt in her eyes.

Why would she doubt him?

Had he ever given her reason to doubt him?

"Yeah," he said in quiet response. Smiling, she pulled herself close once more.

Unable to believe that this was happening, Daniel closed his eyes, a flurry of emotions racing through his body. When she had said come to bed, well, he was thinking something entirely different, had been preparing himself for her throwing herself at him. Not that he necessarily wanted that or didn't, he had come because it was Adrienne and with Adrienne it just didn't seem to be a big deal.

But she hadn't done anything he expected, she just wanted sleep in each other's arms.

Adrienne never did what he expected her to do; it was always so much better.

He lay there, his body and heart aching, trying to determine what he should say or do when finally, he decided the truth was best, she deserved the truth.

"Ad?" he whispered lightly.

"Mmm hmm," she answered against his throat. He reached down for her face to meet his, her brown eyes soft in the glow of the city that peeked through his window.

"I love you Adrienne," he said softly and she smiled, what looked like a tear in her eye.

"I love you too Daniel," she answered him, reaching up for his face. She kissed him on the lips, gently and then burrowed back against him. Content in knowing that she felt the same, Daniel held her and started to let himself fall to sleep. Suddenly she pulled away and he looked down surprised, hoping that he hadn't done something wrong.

"I want to make love to you," she whispered coyly, her face looking as if it was worried about his response.

"Right now?" he asked, thinking to himself that that was quite the idiotic response and she laughed, thankfully.

"No, Thursday at 4; yes Indy, right now," Adrienne replied. He laughed too, of course she would only tease, releasing her. Smirking, she sat up in the bed, peering over at him.

"We don't have to do anything, ok, I don't want you to, well, get your ego all up since yet another woman has fallen for the suave handsome Dr. Jackson," Adrienne joked, starting to roll over to her side.

She about halfway there when she felt him stop her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, "I can't kiss you if you're over there."

Rolling her slowly onto her back, Daniel brought his mouth to hers. She felt his lips, warm and soft brush hers gently and then push more forcefully and she opened her mouth, turning her head, letting him slip his tongue between her teeth and into her mouth to explore slowly. He tasted like smooth red wine. She met his tongue with hers, toying with him at first, then forcing her way into his mouth.

As they kissed slowly and passionately, Adrienne could feel Daniel start to crawl onto of her just a bit so she shifted her hips lightly and reached down his back, guiding him on top of her and in between her legs. She could feel his hardness pressing through his boxers and against her panties and it made her breath out sharply, Daniel pulling his lips away.

"I'm flattered that you've fallen for me Dr. Rowan," he teased, "I hope you've figured out now it's mutual."

"I can tell," she answered playfully, reaching between her legs and grabbing him on the outside of his boxers.

He let out a low moan.

She squeezed him again, gently, running her hand up his hip and to his waist, grabbing at the hem of his shirt. Understanding her intent, he pulled his body upright, ripping the t-shirt from his body, tossing it aside and crawling back to Adrienne, his lips hungry for hers. He kissed her slowly again as she ran her hands across his broad back and brought her hand to his bicep. He worried just for a second that she would be disappointed, he was most certainly not Ronan Dex, but she just squeezed his arm and ran her hands to his shoulders. She seemed pleased, so he took the next step, sliding his hands down to her hips and starting to pull his shirt over her head. She sat up a bit and let him pull the oversized garment off, Daniel discarding it as well, glancing back at her, laying in his bed in only her panties. She could see him looking and smiled, reaching for the black waistband at her own hips and pulling her underwear to the feet, the thin black fabric joining the growing pile of clothes. Biting her lip, she reached for his waist, her fingers slipping into the elastic of his own undergarments.

This is really happening, Daniel told himself as he watched his best friend undressing in front of him. Before he could take in the fact that she was now naked, in his bed, he felt hands at his waist, pulling his last article of clothing downward. He took a quick breath in and she stopped, her eyes darting up to meet his.

"Daniel are you ok?" she asked, letting go of the elastic.

"I can't believe that this is happening, that's all," he said quietly and Adrienne reached over to cover herself with a blanket.

"Shug, it doesn't have to, I really wasn't trying to do anything. I just realized something tonight, here with you," Adrienne assuring him, pulling the blanket carefully as she tried to see where Daniel had thrown her clothes but he shook his head, reaching out for her.

"I didn't say I didn't want it to. It's been a while, that's all and I don't want to disappoint you," he admitted to her finally. Shaking her head, she smiled and sat up again, letting the blanket start to fall from her shoulders once more.

"How could you possibly disappoint me?" she asked, slipping her palm over his. Taking a breath, he crawled under the blankets with her again, cuddling close.

"I'm not Dex," Daniel said as he ran his fingers through her hair. She laid onto him, letting him caress her cheek gently, laughing at his insanity.

"Daniel beb, I donna even wanna entertain the insane notion of what you could mean by that statement. I love you. I don't love Ronan, Cameron or anyone else, just you. It's always been you. Don't you dare worry about disappointing me. Just knowing you love me back is all I need," Adrienne said. Daniel kissed her head gently and brought his face to her ear, holding out his wrist in front of her, where she could see the leather bracelet on his otherwise bare arm.

"Then there's this. I still love Shar'e. I always will," he said quietly, trying to make sense of the confused emotions he was feeling.

Could you love two people?

Adrienne reached out for his arm, grabbing it and bringing it to her. She kissed the appendage gently and then held the bracelet to her face.

"I know you do and that's part of why I love you. After all this time and after everything, you will always love her. That means more to me than you could know; it shows commitment and dedication. Really sha, what woman wouldn't want that?" she kissed the bracelet this time.

Daniel sat up and looked over at her.

This was, he was finally realizing, the most amazing woman he had ever met in his life.

Without further hesitation, he reached underneath the blankets and slid off the remainder of his clothes, tossing his boxers to the floor, his hands urgently pulling her waist to him. She took the cue, drawing her body closer, rolling just a bit to let him position himself on top of her and he brought his lips to hers as he parted her legs with his knees.

He was going to make love to her, slowly and carefully.

He felt her arch her hips into the air and her hands reach for him, stroking him slowly. He didn't need any encouragement, he wanted her so badly he could explode, but it felt good, so he let her play for a moment. Keeping himself up on his arms, Daniel started to kiss her neck lightly as he could feel her pulling him slightly and allowed her, until he felt wetness and warmth pressing against him. He knew where he was so he reached his arms around her and pushed himself in, slowly, taking in every sensation as he made his way into her body. She gasped out once he was inside of her completely, bringing her lips to his ears.

"Slowly," she requested and he did as she asked, pulling himself from her ever so slowly and then re-entering her with the same caution and care. She started to lift her hips each time to encourage him to go deeper, clenching him as he went to escape her, making him breathed out strongly.

Adrienne laid there, with Daniel on top of her, thrusting in and out slowly, feeling the pressure of him inside of her and rubbing her gently. It was pure ecstasy but was causing her desire to make love to change to full on arousal.

He felt the difference in her demeanor and started to quicken his pace a bit, lowering his face to hers.

"I take it you want it faster?" he asked quietly she nodded. He was in pure heaven, here in bed with her, making love to her, trying to please her.

He quickened his thrusts further.

This made her react once more, grabbing him forcefully and pulling him toward her. He laughed at her neck, bringing his lips to hers again, kissing her gently before he pulled away, looking her in the eyes.

"I love you," he said, resuming his pace.

"Sorry, getting a little carried away," she looked slightly embarrassed in the dim lighting. He reached behind her back, pulling her forward and into his lap. She threw back her head as they came upright, grinding down onto him.

"I want you to get carried away. How else are you supposed to act in bed Ad?" he said as he brushed her hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. She brought their lips together and he felt her soft warm tongue slip out of her mouth and into his. They kissed slowing, Adrienne invading Daniel's mouth while he invaded her body, creating a powerful counter sensation. She pulled away and started to push him onto his back, but he resisted.

"I want to make love to you, this time. Let me do this," he whispered to her. She relented and let him lay them gently to their sides, holding her in his arms. He reached down and pulled her leg up to his hip, reaching to push himself deeper.

"Dear god," Adrienne gasped out, squeezing his shoulder tightly. He smiled in the dark and started to slide in and out of her slowly and sensually. Not only was she enjoying the sensation of his in and out motion once more but at this new angle he was applying just the right amount of pressure to her on the outside, he knew, as her breathing changed noticeably.

"Oh no," she whispered, cursing her body for feeling this too soon. Daniel brought his lips to her ear, but did not stop the rhythm, hoping he was correct in his assumption.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, it's too soon, dear god what are you doing to me?" she panted. He laughing lightly, rolling them slightly to lay her once more onto her back.

"I'm making love to you and don't be sorry; I'm waiting for you," he admitted. He continued to hold on, still positioning himself on top, pushing in and out of her quickly, wondering how close she was when he felt her start to shiver underneath of him, throwing back her head.

"Yes, Daniel, yes!" she yelled and as soon as he heard his name cross her lips he let himself go, filling her with his seed. He heard her scream again, pulling herself upward, holding onto him tightly and pushed into her even harder, moaning, letting the sensation overtake his body. He felt her relax beneath him as he pushed in once more and started to stop for her, but he felt her reach behind him and push him in once more, making sure he had finished. He just kissed her lightly.

She looked up at him as he pushed himself up a bit on his arms.

"Are you?" she asked to be sure.

"Mmm hmmm," he replied, sliding off of her and pulling her into his arms. She went willingly, laying her head on his chest.

"That was unbelievable," she whispered.

"I'm glad. That was pretty incredible," he said and kissed her head, just as she started to laugh.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up, worried, peering down at her.

"I need a shower, now, we both need a shower," she said as she sat up and stood from the bed. Daniel watched her graceful naked body glide around the end, mesmerized, watching as she came over to his side and reached out her hand.

"I'll wash you," she offered.

Daniel didn't hesitate.

Forget sleep, he thought, and followed her to his bathroom.


	6. Chapter 6 - With you I can Full Version

"Look, Sam said the Tok'ra are gonna be here; we need to wait," Cam repeated, for at least the fourth time, over his shoulder at Vala as she threw herself onto the ground like a spoiled child. Bewilderment in her eyes, Teyla leaned back, carefully to Adrienne, tilting her head to whisper in her ear.

"Is she always like this?" she asked, this only being the second or third mission she had been on with Vala, that is, even if one could call this a mission.

Three days ago, out of the blue, a strange signal came in from P3X-888, one that had Daniel in a near panic for Chaka and his friends. Opening the Iris, equally as concerned, Sam raced to the gate only to receive a message, in code, code she and Daniel barely understood. It was short, indicating only that the Tok'ra were aware of Anubis' escape and to meet at these coordinates in seventy two hours, coordinates they had been waiting at for at least six.

"More or less," Adrienne grinned, having grown used to Vala's behavior. It was like having a little sister that was really older, taller and crazier, one that provided her with endless sources of personal amusement.

"And to think I make fun of Sheppard when he whines," she joked in return, returning to her watchful stance.

Adrienne just smiled and looked back at the caves down the hill from whence she came, sent to see if the Tok'ra had arrived. There was no time clock for their arrival beyond the three days; the message pretty much said they would be here today and that was all, so here they were, playing the waiting game.

Teyla, a bit antsy for a lack of things to do around the SGC, had volunteered to come, leaving her son Torrin in John Sheppard's care. Adrienne felt bad, there was really nothing to do here either but sit and wait and listen to Vala whine and Cam fuss, but she was assuming that Teyla was just enjoying not having to answer to someone under the age of 18. She guessed Teyla could come with she and Daniel, but to be honest, that wasn't all that exciting either and Adrienne was somewhat enjoying their quiet time together.

Shrugging, she turned again to face Teyla, sympathy on her face.

"Well, I was just coming to check if you guys had heard anything, but if not it's back to listen to my own big whiner," she quipped, eager to return back to Daniel but also not wanting to show it outwardly. She'd been enjoying this little excursion, the two of them, alone in the caves; there was something about it that was just nice even if they were working.

Teyla laughed lightly, relaxing finally, tucking the gun under her arm instead of using it to guide her scan of the horizon. As the one mom in the group, she took no chances with her life or the lives of her friends, so despite the planet's friendly appearance, she had refused to relinquish her P90 for a moment.

"What's he doing anyway?" she asked, having noted Daniel's absence from the group for hours and Adrienne rolled her eyes, shaking her head at her boss's endless geekiness.

"Apparently, they've been here before, I guess that's why the Tok'ra chose it. When they last explored this planet they found writing in the caves, some dialect that he's picked up. It's not anything I know, so I'm not quite sure why he dragged me along," she answered, even though she knew why and it was nice to be wanted, even if he was just enjoying her company.

"With those IOA folks it seems to be all about numbers, and five seems to be the magic number lately..." Teyla smiled, one that Adrienne didn't quite trust, a look like she knew something and she just shrugged, jogging back in the direction of her boss, her best friend, the one person she loved more than anyone else in the universe, her boyfriend.

That had taken her an entire week of saying it in her head to get the courage to say it to his face, but she had and he didn't say anything unkind or smart, just held her and kissed her and told her he loved her.

I am so happy, she thought as she ran, breathing in the fresh air around her, regretting that once they met up with the Tok'ra that they would have to go home to a cold and wet early winter in Washington D.C.

Here, the grass was so green that it seemed to shimmer in the light of the two suns which shone ahead like two parents lovingly overlooking their children. The entire planet was either some wonderful dream or a movie set in New Zealand, even the cave had a romantic quality to it, the thought making her smile to herself as she stuck her head in and clicked on her flashlight, heading back for Daniel.

For her Daniel.

"Hey Indy, find anything cool?" she shouted.

"Short Round, you're back," he looked over his shoulder and smiled, his eyes sparkling in the beam of her flashlight. Shaking her head, she laughed, truly touched when he did things like that.

"Excellent my young padawan, taught you well I have," she joked and knelt behind him putting her chin on his shoulder and bringing her cheek right beside his, stealing a kiss. Turning his head he pecked her lips gently, cutting his eyes back, hoping that no one saw, that no one else was here and reached his fingers forward again, letting them trace the characters on the wall.

"No, not really. Just a few lines about how they grew crops and some notes on hunting expeditions but nothing really valuable. Glad to know I obsessed over this for three years for nothing," he shrugged, rubbing her back lightly. Lifting her eyebrows in a sort of silent apology, Adrienne sat back onto to cold cave floor and sighed.

He had been so excited this morning and the days leading up to the mission that she felt bad he had found nothing so she remained silent, at a loss as to what else she could say.

"No Tok'ra yet, huh?" Daniel asked her, breaking the awkward silence.

"Not yet, and Vala's throwing a tantrum," Adrienne answered, glad to change the subject.

"So what else is new?" Daniel replied.

Laughing, Adrienne reached into her pack, since there were no notes to take, pulling out a novel and crawled closer to the light Daniel had set up, the replacement light she had purchased after Vala had broken her fancy LED light.

Accidentally, Vala had broken the light accidentally, she reminded herself, but she was still a little annoyed by the entire thing.

"Zombies?" Daniel asked, looking at her curiously, glancing over his glasses to see what she was reading. Turning to face the cover to him, Adrienne shook her head.

"No, back to vampires, still waiting on the next zombie issue to come out," she answered, recalling the last page she was on and turning to it.

"Any good?" he kept questioning while he jotted things into his journal.

"Well, Sookie dumped that stupid weretiger, so I'm not quitting the series just yet," she answered, not looking up as she scanned the page.

"Has she figured out she loves Eric?" he asked like it was the most normal conversation in the world, Adrienne looking at him strangely.

"What?" he looked back at her, noticing her pause.

"I never thought you listened to me about my stupid books," she said.

"Well, I do. Mostly because it fascinates me how a woman so intelligent can read that type of ... literature," he raised his eyebrows, "and because I try to impress you with my knowledge of pop culture."

"No, she's still lying to herself, trying to rationalize his actions," Adrienne answered, blushing, flattered again by his sweetness.

How could she ever think this man would hurt her?

"Sounds like someone else I know," he joked, hoping she wouldn't throw that back at him and continuing, "Well, I guess I'll know when they finally do hook up," he stated and Adrienne cocked her head, puzzled.

"And how is that?" Adrienne was intrigued.

"Because it'll be the one moment that I'm trying to do something, like this, that you can't help with, and I'll be concentrating on the key word in the passage when you'll start screaming like a fool," he looked back at her, laughing.

"You don't love me," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him, kicking him with her extended leg, laughing and returning to her book.

A short time later, neither of them sure how long as Adrienne had been trapped in the world of vampire politics and Daniel in his rock wall reading, Vala came running into the cave, out of breath but seemingly delighted.

"THEY'RE HERE! FINALLY! LET"S GO, I'M SO BORED..." she shouted as if Daniel and Adrienne were across a football field instead of sitting right in front of her. They both glanced up at her and saw Teyla sticking her head in behind Vala.

"Our allies have arrived," Teyla said, "Cameron is briefing them now and we will be leaving soon." Adrienne sat up and began to pack her things while Daniel still stared away at the wall, his body language indicating that he had no intention of leaving at the present moment.

"Who came?" Daniel not making eye contact, wondering if it was anyone he knew.

"Another one of your women," she stated, annoyed, flopping herself on the floor beside Adrienne, "Did Sookie dump that hot guy for stupid Eric?"

"Anise?" he followed up, jotting something else down in his book. Adrienne had been about to answer Vala's question since she knew Vala was a few volumes behind her, but she couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy at Vala's comment coupled with Daniel's answer, a tinge that Vala saw.

"Yes," Vala answered, "she's a bitch. No worries Addy, I can tell by the look on her face that he must have tossed her aside too. Glasses is all yours," Adrienne flushed at her response as Vala busted out laughing.

"You two are pathetic. I'm going to wait outside, it's too damn cold in here," Vala said, standing, pushing past a waiting Teyla, whom Adrienne had forgotten was still standing at the entrance to the inner chamber.

"It is both Anise and Sina. They are both speaking with Cameron now, but there does not appear to be a rush. I will be at the top of the hill waiting. Take your time," she smiled and left.

"I like her," Adrienne told Daniel as she continued to put away their gear, "I think I'll be sad once Rodney figures out how to recharge the ZPM's. Other than him, the rest of them have kind of grown on me," Adrienne lamented.

She meant it, and even though things were a bit awkward after the date she and Ronon had a few months back, she would miss him too, but Daniel didn't look up.

"So when did you tell Vala?" he asked instead, as he continued to write.

"Tell Vala what?" Adrienne countered, confused, thinking more about what information the Tok'ra could have that was going to turn their entire world upside down and exactly how pretty was this other alien woman.

"About us," he answered, tucking the pen into the journal to finally peer back at her.

"I didn't, she just obnoxious and possibly psychic," Adrienne replied laughing but Daniel was already making a face at her.

"Ok, I mean, it's not that I don't, Ad, it's just that," Daniel tried to explain, feeling already like he was going to hurt her feelings, this was all so fragile anyway, but Adrienne was crawling forward, turning him to face her, running her palm down his cheek.

"It's that she has the biggest mouth on the planet, possibly in the galaxy and you don't want me shipped to a basement of some research facility in the Arctic," Adrienne ventured, turning her head.

"That's about right," he argued, tossing his journal aside as Adrienne brought him into a deep long kiss, wrapping his arms around her, running his hands down her back.

She'd been a bit more tactile lately, more intimate, and no longer shrugged away when she had gotten him to a point of excitement like she had before. Granted, they still hadn't taken it much beyond very heavy kissing and some touching, but it wasn't the physical that made him so happy, it was that she finally trusted him enough to open herself up in ways she hadn't in a very long time. He let them kiss softly for a few moments, pulling her into his lap and sliding his hand into her uniform shirt to rub her waist, wanting to feel her flesh and broke away reluctantly, letting his lips brush hers one more time before lightly guiding her from his legs, returning to his task.

Curious as to what he was doing and still desiring his touch, Adrienne pushed the gear bag aside and reached for his shoulders, a smile from their contact still lingering in her face.

"I thought you said it was nothing important," she asked, peering to see what he was looking at.

"It isn't, but I feel like I owe it to myself to keep going until we absolutely have to leave," he replied.

"Ok, well, it looks like we're all packed up except for what you are working on right now, so if it's ok I would love to enjoy the sunshine before I lose it..." she asked, not wanting to leave him alone but starting to feel withered in the cold, wet cave. If she could lay there in his arms, maybe she would want to stay, but he had work to do and they'd pushed their luck for the day as it was, after all, she could just kiss him tonight.

"Go ahead, I'll yell if I need you," he answered, resuming his translation. Permission granted, Adrienne threw her bag over her shoulder, leaning over to kiss his ear softly, and headed out into the inviting sunlight, relishing in the brilliant rays the moment she emerged from the mouth of the cave.

Tossing her pack onto the grass, laying down and leaning against it, she was able to get a few more chapters in when she heard Cam over the radio, now working since she wasn't in the cave.

"Ok, everyone let's regroup. Addy, are you hearing me? Please respond so I don't have to send our big baby to fetch you guys..." Cam's voice said into her shoulder. She laughed, almost wanting to not answer just to make Vala have to walk back down to the caves again, but she decided to play nice.

"Yeah, I can hear you. I'll go fetch him and we'll be up in a moment," Adrienne answered, clicking off her radio and leaning back to yell into the cave.

"Indy, we're being summoned!" she shouted.

"Ok, I'll be right there!" he yelled back.

"Well, you'd better hurry. I think Cam has hit his Vala toleration quota for the day," Adrienne warned and thought she heard laughing from inside.

Moments later he appeared from the cave, quickly shielding his eyes from the sun as the beams lit up his face.

"I was in there WAY too long," he said as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness.

"I should start calling you Eric," she teased.

"So does that make you Pam?" he asked, waiting to see if she'd catch on.

"Only because Sookie is a big wuss," she responded, pulling on his jacket to kiss him again, probably more passionately then she should have risked. He returned the gesture, chills racing down his spine as he resisted the urge to drag her back out into that cave and kiss her some more, shoving her away quickly, laughing.

"You want us to get caught," he accused, as Adrienne started walking slowly up the hill, leaving him behind as she laughed.

Cam was dialing home when they arrived at the top of the hill, the team waiting patiently for their way home to take shape.

"Boy, you aren't gonna believe the shit they told us," Cam said, mostly to Daniel, as the pair of archaeologists reached the precipice of the slope. Frowning in concern, Daniel reached into his messenger bag to slide a journal into it, one he had read the entire way up the hill, almost walking into Adrienne at least five times, glancing back up at the colonel.

"Go ahead, because what I've got is about ten years' worth of hunting yields," Daniel replied, adjusting his pack. Cam was leaning on the DHD where he had started to dial and stopped, intending to explain to Daniel first.

"No,no,no,no" Vala leapt up from where she had been lying on the ground, whining, grabbing Cam's hand to return it the machine, "talk and dial Mitchell, talk and dial." Frowning he shooed her away, returning his attention to Daniel.

"So apparently we were correct, our good buddy has been traipsing all over the damn galaxy collecting whatever rag tags he can. He started with any homeless Ori soldiers he could find, whoever chose to not go with Tomin..."

"My husband," Vala interrupted, making Adrienne roll her eyes. She only acknowledged the man as her husband when it was convenient, which bothered Adrienne on a wide variety of levels.

"Whatever, anyway, he collected those that he could, plus a few marauders and traders that the Lucians have no use for, and, get this, some Jaffa, ones that are rebelling against the council," the colonel explained, Daniel expression growing more grim.

"He's essentially collecting everyone in the galaxy that could hold a grudge against us and uniting them. But why? For what cause?" Daniel asked, more to himself than anyone else.

"Great, can we talk about this at home?" Vala pushed her way between the two men proceeding to dial Earth once more. Letting out a breath of annoyance, Daniel moved her aside beginning to dial when he stop, remembering something.

"Ad, did you see the red journal? The new one?" Daniel asked, digging around in his bag again, looking up at her and in back into the bag.

"Are you kidding me, you lost something?!" Vala demanded, trudging over to rip Daniel's bag from his shoulder, spilling the contents onto the ground at the base of the stone ramp.

"What's wrong shug?" Adrienne stepped forward asking as Daniel glared at Vala, daring her to touch the mess now at his feet.

"I left a journal. The one with my language notes on - " he started, but Adrienne interrupted, shaking her hand in front of her face.

"I'll run back," Adrienne volunteered.

"No, it's alright, you're not my servant, I'll go," Daniel argued.

"I'm not your servant, but in a few minutes I'll be back in DC, cold and wet and in a briefing about Mr. Scary Jackal Head. I really don't mind running in the sunshine for a bit longer," she assured him, missing the rays of heat against her face already, making her miss the Bayou against her better judgement.

"Yes, let Addy go, Daniel is slow," Vala moaned and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Fine, go Addy but hurry up, please, Sam's expecting us back pronto, and she's gonna wanna hear this," Cameron pleaded, directing his eyes over to Vala.

Adrienne knew his insistence had nothing to do with Sam and everything to do with not taping Vala's mouth shut, which, given a roll of duct tape, Cam just might do. Trying not to laugh, the cajun darted down the green hill once more, racing back to the caves.

"Wait up!" Teyla shouted, startling Adrienne at first as she came to a dead stop and ducked thinking something was wrong, that she missed some surprise attack from their apparently growing list of enemies. She relaxed, breathing out once she realized that it was just Teyla trying to catch up.

"I'm not gonna get shot between here and there Teyla, but I appreciate the gesture," Adrienne assured, her self-appointed guardian now approaching her.

"I know, it is safe here but I cannot listen to that woman a moment longer," Teyla answered and this time, Adrienne laughed, signaling that her Atlantian friend join her in her dash down the soft grassy hill.

When they arrived, Adrienne quickly crossed the threshold of the cave and clicked on her flashlight, making her way over to where Daniel had been working. She got onto her hands and knees and searched, running the beam along the crevasse where the rock wall and floor met, knocking a few damp rocks out of her way with her hands, but found nothing.

"Find it?" Teyla asked, standing behind the archaeologist, scanning the ground herself.

"No, gah damn saleau, I have no idea what he did with it. He's a spreader; I'm never sure how he finds anything," Adrienne replied, annoyed with herself as well that she chose to sunbathe and read instead of help him stay organized.

She might be taking this girlfriend thing a little too far and forgetting the assistant part.

She made a mental note not to do that again in the future.

There was a click behind her, a second beam joining her own and Teyla got down herself, intending to help as well. Pointing to Teyla to re-examine the area in front of her, Adrienne turned, crawling even deeper into the cave, thinking that maybe he had accidentally kicked it aside when she heard what sounded like a large explosion from behind them.

And then the world shook.

Daniel and Cameron were sitting on the steps leading to the gate waiting, chatting about the small electronic device that contained information from the Tok'ra spies, Vala now slumped over the DHD still complaining. Daniel just ignored her, more interested in the little bit of verbal information Cam had to offer since they would need Sam to activate the memory stick, but the colonel had had just about enough of her nonsense.

"Jesus Vala," Cameron said, "You're bored on-world, you're bored off-world, is there a time when you are not bored." Sticking out her tongue, she leaned up and smiled, raising her eyebrows at Daniel, who scowled at the non-verbal suggestion.

"Forget I asked," Cam replied, Daniel thinking to himself that if that was going to happen with anyone, it was going to be with Adrienne, feeling guilty immediately for the thought.

Don't push her Daniel, even mentally, he scolded.

"Back home there's TV. Here there's just grass, grass and more grass," she answered, sweeping the beautiful landscape with her hand, the landscape Adrienne had been in awe of when they arrived.

"You could bring a book. Adrienne always has something to read just in case," Daniel offered, remembering that at some point Vala was reading those silly vampire novels of Adrienne's, wondering why she didn't have one with her now.

"Adrienne always has something to read just in case," Vala mimicked his voice, adding an unnecessary whiney nasal, when they heard an explosion, rising to their feet, looking around them for an attacker. The skies were clear, the gate was still standing there, dormant, when another explosion went off and the ground began to shake under their feet.

"Take cover," Cam yelled, and they braced themselves on the nearest structure, Daniel and Cam holding onto the stone platform leading to the gate while Vala clung to the DHD. The shaking went on for a good thirty seconds before stopping as suddenly as it started, as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone ok?" Cam asked.

"Good," Vala responded.

"Fine," Daniel answered and reached for his shoulder, "Ad, you almost back? Are you ok?" he said into the radio, hoping that she wasn't sprawled out in the grass, taken off guard by the tremor and lying helpless with a sprained ankle.

"Adrienne? Come in," Daniel repeated, fear rising in his voice. Why wasn't she answering? She should have been back already, or at the very least half way there.

"Just chill Jackson, there isn't signal in the caves," Cameron said, knowing where this was going; he had seen Daniel like this before, seen him panic over losing sight and contact with his assistant.

Shooting a glance back at Cam, Daniel didn't respond, throwing his bag to the ground, running full speed back down the hill.

"Adrienne, are you alright?" Teyla called out into the darkness as Daniel's fearless assistant was dusting herself off trying to reach the flashlight from the crevice into which it had fallen.

"Yeah, just trying...to... got it!" she exclaimed, "and..." she looked at Teyla shining the flashlight in her face like she was going to tell a campfire ghost story, "I found the journal."

"Of course," Teyla replied, Adrienne muttering cajun swears under her breathe, the words Daniel and cooyon being the ones Teyla recognized.

"What do you believe was the cause of that?" the Athosian continued, shining the light all around the small stone room, searching for a cause of the shaking.

"I have no idea, but the last time the earth moved under my feet, it was because of Anubis and not my heart beatin' cuz viking vampires were calling my name," Adrienne answered, now humming the song under her breath.

"I'm sorry,?" Teyla questioned, noting Adrienne was not looking around any longer for a cause, simply pointing the flashlight back from the direction they came.

"Nothing, bad attempt at a joke, let's go on the off chance that someone that we don't want to find us has," Adrienne replied.

The women headed back around the corner in search of the mouth of the cave, stepping carefully through the pitch black using the guiding beam of Adrienne's small flashlight. They had gone only a short distance when Adrienne felt a gentle grab at her wrist and a tug from behind.

"Adrienne?" Teyla stopped their advance, asking curiously, "How far were you all working in the cave?"

"Not too far," Adrienne answered, "Why?"

"Did we get turned around?" she continued.

"No, why?" the archaeologist asked herself, turning her flashlight to her friend to see if she had missing something. There was a light click in the darkness and a flash, Teyla bringing her own lamp to life, shining it at Adrienne's feet and scanning upward slowly, revealing a wall of stone.

"Because if not, I think we are trapped," she stated as Adrienne brought her hand to her face.

"Why would I ever think anything we do is easy," Adrienne sighed, and started to scan the wall for an opening.

When Daniel saw the cave his fears were confirmed; the entire entrance had collapsed leaving in its place a large pile of rubble.

"Adrienne!" Daniel screamed and began to pull at the rocks in the entrance, rock by rock, screaming her name looking for any sign that she was alive. She had to be alive, she just had to be alright, he thought, I can't lose her now that I have her.

There were footsteps, running foot steps behind him, Cameron and Vala racing to join him and hearing them, Daniel looked behind himself panic stricken.

"Come help me, they're trapped in there!" he shouted, pulling at rocks. No questions asked or needed, his teammates rushed over to help, pulling rocks one by one tossing them aside on the ground behind them, but just as they cleared one area entirely, more rocks just kept crashing down to replace the ones that they had removed.

"Adrienne, answer me!" Daniel screamed into the stone, hoping to get a response, his face distressed and his breath shallow.

Frantic, Daniel dropped to his knees, searching for an opening at the bottom as Vala reached to the top to do the same, pulling a large rock positioned right over Cameron's head, a rock larger than she expected. She was unable to hold onto it and it came down on top of him, hitting him square in the temple.

"Shit, Vala, be careful!" he yelled, grabbing his head, the group stopping their attack on the rubble to make sure he was alright.

"Cam, you're bleeding," Vala noted, reaching into her vest for some first aid supplies, stepping back to dig around in her pockets.

"I AM WELL AWARE OF THAT VALA!" Cam screamed at her and she apologized, nastily Daniel noted, thinking a lot more must have gone on back at the DHD than he knew about since Cam seemed much angrier than he normally would have been.

Grunting, Vala grabbed him by his arm, pulling him aside, sitting him down on the ground to mend the wound.

Daniel probably should have helped, he was the trained medic, but he couldn't focus, he could only focus on one thing, that the love of his life was on the other side of the debris, trapped and it was his fault.

"You stay put," he heard Vala order from behind him, seeing her joining him in pulling the rocks again, Daniel having moved back to the upper layer where Vala had been working before. She reached for another large rock, wedged next to the space formerly housing Cam's stone attacker, when her hand slipped from the sides, the large piece almost dropping on her. Assuming her hands were sweaty, and hoping the Cam hadn't noticed to start swearing at her again for being careless, Vala wiped the moisture from her palms and onto her BDU's before reaching up to get a better grasp, slipping again, staggering backward. Catching herself, Vala looked down at her hands, knowing that she wasn't sweating that bad, thinking maybe there was mud on them, perhaps some of the rocks were wet, the result of inner cave rocks coming cascading down on top of them, but they weren't.

Her hands were stained with a dark, thick red ooze: blood.

Her hands were stained with blood.

Shaking her head, Vala glanced back between herself and Cam quickly, distinctly remembering washing her hands off after tending to Cameron. She had no idea where the blood was coming from, her hands were clean, Cam's wound fixed, there were no cuts on her palms or between her fingers, when it hit her. Realizing what was going on Vala looked over at Daniel as he tossed another rocked behind him, grabbing his hands in her own before he could take down another.

His palms were covered in blood, the top layer of skin stripped, his hands raw.

"Stop," she whispered gently, but he jerked his hands from hers, glaring at her angrily, and kept pulling rocks out one at a time, wincing at each pull in pain, a wincing that she had not noticed before. She stood there, not saying a word, watching him pull a few more, each and every one slipping from his hand and to the ground, covered in brown and red streaks.

Wiping his hands onto his pants quickly, he reached up again to grab another.

"Daniel, stop," she now ordered, placing her hand on his shoulder, pulling him away. Heeding her request, he turned around to face her with a look of sadness on his face and what appeared to be tears in his eyes, muttering something that sounded like 'Ad, we're, she, I.'

She reached out for him, but he just stood there, looking lost and desperate.

"I know honey, I know," she squeezed his bicep, rubbing his arm, "I'm sure she's fine, but we need to get some help," Vala whispered softly, not wanting to embarrass Daniel.

She knew what was going on.

She had been right, she had been right all along and this just confirmed it.

Daniel was in love with Adrienne and apparently from his mutterings they were together.

Gripping his arm one final time, Vala turned to Cam to try and figure out a plan.

"Daniel! Daniel!" Adrienne shouted at the pile of stones yet again, stopping only to clear her sore throat and start shouting once more

"I think if they could hear us we would know," Teyla interjected as Adrienne was resting her throat for a third time.

"I know, this just makes me feel better, especially since I left my damn staff weapon back at the lab. You know like in the movies when they keep moving the rocks and the light peers through, and they shout comforting thoughts through to one another while they await rescue, that, if I keep screaming, maybe Daniel with answer," Adrienne babbled, sitting down on the ground leaning back onto the rubble.

"You watch a lot of movies," Teyla remarked, taking a seat beside her and clicking off the light, plunging both women into darkness.

"Watched. Past tense. Used to have a lot more free time on my hands," Adrienne replied, Teyla laughing in reply.

"It's strange, I spent my whole life never knowing what television or movies were and now Torrin will never know a life without it," she said.

"But what if you guys can make it back?" Adrienne asked, wishing she had used a word other than if but Teyla didn't seem to notice.

"I am certain that this time John will bring much video entertainment," she responded, making Adrienne laugh. She was fairly certain that Teyla was correct, if John Sheppard had anything to do with it, there would be an entire video facility built to accommodate John, Ronon and Rodney's video game and film hobby.

"I was telling Daniel today that I will miss ya'll when you go. Kinda like Torrin and TV, I've never known a life at the SGC without you," Adrienne admitted.

"That is kind of you Adrienne. We have grown quite fond of you as well," Teyla answered, making her friend smile in the dark.

"Do you miss it?" she asked, unable to imagine what it was like to be stranded so far from home. The Bayou was far, not that she missed much about it, but when she did, she could just pick up the phone and listen to Rae talk about her horses or the new goat babies.

Teyla, on the other hand, didn't have that option.

"Some. The base, yes, it became home. The planet, no, it was not my first home. That I miss and I miss Kanaan," the last words were the quietest and broke Adrienne's heart. That she couldn't imagine either, being separated from someone as special as Kanaan was to Teyla, someone as special as Daniel was to her now. Choking up at the realization, that not only did she love him, but that he had become such an important part of her life, she reached over into the darkness for Teyla, grabbing her knee and squeezed.

"Did you leave someone behind?" Teyla asked, sensing her sadness, "To come work for the SGC?"

"Yes and no. My father died a few months before I was contacted by Sam and I have an interesting relationship with the rest of my family," Adrienne answered honestly, silently breathing in to compose herself.

"No one else?" Teyla pried and Adrienne realized that she was trying to have 'girl talk.' It was sweet; Teyla was such a kind woman.

Vala had proven to be a good friend in so many ways, but sitting here, talking to Teyla, Adrienne felt as if she could say anything and there would be no judgments and no insane suggestions. The Athosian wasn't much older than Adrienne she guessed, maybe six or seven years at best, but there was something about Teyla that just made her seem so much wiser.

"No one. There was a boyfriend for a few years, but he just didn't understand me. Wanted a more proper woman, so that didn't work out," Adrienne explained.

"I find it interesting what Earth defines as a proper woman. On Athos a women needed to be able to do everything a man could do and the reverse. Here, even for as advanced as you are, it seems that a woman still is expected to remain a lesser being," Teyla observed.

"I agree, completely, or at the very least give up every dream that they ever had the moment they're in a committed relationship," Adrienne continued, feeling sad once more that someday Teyla would leave the base, sooner than later if Rodney had his way.

Adrienne could really relate to Teyla, in a way she wished she could with Sam, if Sam was ever able to have a true free moment.

"I do not think all men are like that. I think that once one finds their other that things can be different," Teyla added.

Maybe, Adrienne thought, Daniel didn't seem to want for one moment that Adrienne stop anything, in fact, the whole reason they hadn't told anyone about their relationship was for fear of Adrienne losing her position at the SGC.

She smiled, realizing that maybe Daniel was her one, the only one, something she hadn't really thought about before.

_Daniel __**is**__ my one..._

"You seem calmer now," Teyla said, interrupting her thoughts and revealing her original intention.

"I am, thanks. We just need to hang in there," Adrienne said, keeping the other lingering ponderings to herself.

"They will not leave us. It is not their way. Daniel will not leave you," Teyla added the last part carefully.

"No, he won't," Adrienne replied, not much more than a whisper, knowing in her heart that Teyla was right.

"I'm not going," Daniel argued with Cameron and Vala.

"Jackson, listen, it's getting dark and this place might seem safe but with Anubis snooping around and the damn Lucians, you have no idea what could come out at you. We're just hoping that this was an earthquake and not a surprise from your old friend," Cameron tried to reason with him.

"I don't care. What if they are working from the other side? What if just a few more stones and we can hear them and at least have a better idea if someone is hurt," Daniel retorted, his eyes cutting back continuing at the wall behind him as if he were expecting just that you happen.

"Dammit, Daniel, why can't you be reasonable?! We have no idea if they're even -" Cameron caught himself, not really thinking that anything had happened to his friends, just trying to consider all scenarios, but it was too late, the words had escaped his mouth and his co-leader was already storming up to his face, pointing his finger and shouting.

"Don't you even say it, don't even consider it!" he shouted, "I know she's on the other side just waiting for me to get to her!"

"She?! Daniel, we're assuming it is Adrienne AND Teyla in there. What the hell is your problem man?" Cam shoved him back, knowing full well what the problem was, a problem that as co-leader Daniel couldn't have. Fine, they could be together and Cam would keep his mouth shut, but Jackson couldn't stand here, losing his mind every time Adrienne might be hurt or in danger.

Refusing to back down from Daniel, not wanting it to come to blows but also feeling the need to inform him, if not verbally, that this was not how the team was going to run, Cam stood his ground as Vala walked over to him, reaching out for his arm.

"Let Daniel stay," Vala said carefully, "He has a radio, and I'll leave him my gun so he has two, just in case."

"You agree with him!?" Cam now directed his anger at her, "Do you realize how stupid you both sound right now?"

"Let him stay," Vala urged a second time, Cam shaking his head in disbelief. Apparently he wasn't the only team member privy to this information, and Vala seemed to be taking their side. Glancing back quickly at his friend, his palms finally beginning to clot from his earlier bad decision, Cam remembered Adrienne's words to him, the look in her face when she had to admit everything. Sighing, he opened a pouch on his vest, grabbing a small canister inside and tossing it over to Daniel.

"It's a gas bomb. It won't kill anyone, but can buy you sometime," Cam explained, giving in, deciding to leave him behind.

"Thanks," Daniel said as he caught the canister, slipping it into his own vest.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Cameron stated once more, wanting his opinion to be clear.

"I'm still staying," Daniel responded.

"Suit yourself," Cam replied and started up the hill toward the gate. Vala looked back at Daniel quickly and smiled, turning to follow Cam.

"What in the hell has gotten into him?" Cameron asked rhetorically, hearing Vala giggle from behind him.

"It's getting dark out," Adrienne stated some time later, having given up on digging out or shouting for Daniel. Frustrated, she had pulled off her tac vest, balling it into a tight ball of fabric to create a make shift pillow, laying down on the cold cave floor.

Daniel wouldn't let them down, Adrienne knew, she was just going to be patient and have to wait.

"How do you know?" Teyla asked, having not counted the time herself.

"I remember from the file, it gets dark here around 7 p.m. Earth time year round and my watch says it 6:55 our time," Adrienne answered, looking down at the manual watch she had gotten used to wearing, finally learning that her gadgets didn't always work when she needed them.

"Will it get colder?" Teyla asked another question, sounding worried.

"It might, but not much. This planet is pretty much a climatic paradise," Adrienne assured her trying to will away the coldness of the floor with the memory of the warmth of the sun on her cheeks.

"Did you look that up too?" Teyla teased.

"Of course. I've made the mistake of taking Daniel's word for it before," Adrienne giggled, knowing that important things like planet temperature were not items to be discussed with Daniel, who thought that sixty degrees was getting a little toasty.

"He is quite lucky to have you," Teyla stated, her tone changing.

"Who? Daniel?" Adrienne clarified, "Pretty much. I'm not sure how that man managed for as long as he did on his own."

"Yes," Teyla answered simply, "and you make him very happy."

Adrienne froze.

What did she mean by making him happy?

By doing her work?

Keeping him organized?

Or did she know...

Well, if she knows, Adrienne thought, it won't be my fault.

_I'm not in any mood to get caught or become an IOA secretary. _

"I'd like to think so," Adrienne replied, trying to hide the longing in her voice, her desire for him to come rushing in here, rescue her, take her into his arms and take her out of this stone prison.

"It is true. When you returned from your cousin's ceremony, Daniel was overjoyed to have with him once more. I'm sure your joining was most celebratory as well," the alien joked and Adrienne's heart skipped a beat.

Their joining?

Did she mean?

"I remember when we would go on a longer mission and I could not return to the village for many days and to join again with Kanaan was almost magical," Teyla continued.

Yep, Adrienne thought, that meant exactly what I thought it meant.

"I hope I did not offend you," Teyla spoke again, noting Adrienne's silence, "I have forgotten that in your culture you do not speak openly of such things."

"No, you didn't," Adrienne answered, "things like that don't offend me."

Surprise me yes, she continued inside, but not offend me.

Unlike some other people, Teyla was talking about love making in the sweetest most perfect way possible and wishing well upon her and Daniel, not anything dirty or malicious.

"Then you do not feel the same? Has Daniel done something to upset you?" Teyla started to question again.

Adrienne felt so stuck.

Why? Why did she care so much?

Her words were so certain, not as if she was guessing that they were together, but certain that they were. Nerves built up in her stomach, and for the first time Adrienne wanted to tell someone, she wanted to stand up and scream it from the rooftops that she had found the love of her life and she never wanted to be with anyone but him.

Yet, she didn't.

Sighing, Adrienne laid her head back against the tac vest again and Teyla didn't question her silence.

They were certainly colder now, but it wasn't unbearable. She could hear water dripping in the distance and closed her eyes imagining the slow process of water forming stalagmites like some old filmstrip from when she was in elementary school. It was a soothing image and she started to feel herself drift off to sleep slightly, but not totally since she was still aware of being in the cave.

Despite being trapped in relative darkness she wasn't scared; instead she sat there completely confident that Daniel would come sweeping in to save her. In her partially asleep state she played out the rescue in her head, a light peering through the wall, his voice on the other side, his hands pulling away the rocks. She imagined him bursting through the wall and running up to her, pulling her into his strong arms, looking her deep in the eyes and bringing his lips to her own. She wanted to imagine more, had imagined more, even in the bed with him kissing her neck, touching him lightly through his clothes, feeling his strong grasp at her backside, moving slowly and cautiously for her.

"I can't," Adrienne said finally, "I can't make love to him." She didn't believe her own words until they came from her mouth, echoing on the wet stone surrounding them.

"Why not?" Teyla questioned and Adrienne dropped to silence once more.

Daniel watched the sun go down and peeked at his watch noting that it was 7:00 p.m. Earth time, just like Adrienne had said. He remembered her telling him that the sun going down was the only thing about the planet that she didn't like and he remembered telling her she would get more time with Eric Northman.

That had earned him a punch in the arm, her flushed smile and a stolen kiss in the lab.

A long stolen kiss, one that he could almost feel against his own lips as he sat at what would be the mouth of the cave, waiting.

Vala and Cameron had been gone about forty five minutes. The walk to the gate was less than five, but he was sure that Sam was trying to find a way to get the Adrienne and Teyla out of the cave without having to blow anything up, the general not being a huge fan of explosions.

He was also certain that they would be bringing the medical team too, just in case and he could see Adrienne's reaction now as she walked out of the cave to be greeted by Dr. Lam whom Adrienne would later swear had blamed the entire cave in on her. Dr. Grumpypants she called her, even though he had never thought of Carolyn as anything but nice, Adrienne claimed she had the bedside manner of an ice pop. He laughed to himself, thinking that if he had to patch up Adrienne as much as Carolyn had, he just might be a little grumpy too.

He also knew Adrienne was alright; he couldn't handle thinking anything else. She was his world now, his first thought in the morning and his last before bed, even if she wasn't in his arms for those thoughts. Now he finally had her, had finally told her, and they were trying so hard to overcome their pasts together, to be together despite it all.

If he lost her he just couldn't...

Daniel breathed in and tried not to think about it, glancing back in the direction of the gate.

"Have you told him?" Teyla asked her again after stressing the importance of being completely open with someone you love. What started out as a friendly conversation had turned into a complete analysis of Adrienne's psyche and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

"Yes," Adrienne answered quietly, hoping that Teyla didn't ask for specifics since her previous statement of having something terrible happen to her was hard enough to admit to yet another person.

"Daniel is a good man. I know he understands," Teyla defended, misunderstanding Adrienne.

"No, he does, he's been nothing but wonderful," Adrienne sat up, not wanting Teyla to think for a moment that Daniel was pushing her into anything, "And I want to, but I just can't. I get to the point and I just can't."

"Why not?" Teyla pushed, sitting forward toward her, "He would never hurt you."

He almost did, Adrienne thought, he was so very close and her heart sank. He was right, he was right in every one of his concerns, holding her close one night in his arms as she had laid so intimately intertwined with him, afraid to go on. It was that, it was that one insane moment, fueled by poison that was holding her back, but he hadn't hurt her. In fact, as sick as he was he was still coherent enough to be Daniel and here they were, in the most perfect relationship that she could ever imagine and she had become what she hated, whiney, needy, weak and it wasn't even his fault.

"You're right. He wouldn't. He would never hurt me," Adrienne agreed easily, confidently, a wave of relief rushing over her.

This was right, this could fix everything, he could fix everything.

The only thing in her life that made her feel powerless Daniel Jackson could wash away.

"I thought as much," Teyla declared, "I know I would give anything just touch Kanaan one more time."

Adrienne was speechless and heartbroken, pushing away her own selfish thoughts. She couldn't imagine being light years away from the person you loved most in this world, the father of your child, all with the knowledge that you very well may never see him again, ever.

Adrienne felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"I do not mean to intrude into your life Adrienne, I was just making an observation," Teyla said, thinking Adrienne had shed the tear for herself, reaching over to clasp her hand.

The watch said 8:05 and Daniel couldn't wait any longer, looking at how Vala had bandaged his hands and glancing back at the wall. Digging into his bag he pulled out his travel trowel and the K-Bar he never used for defense, but rather used to pick dirt out of carvings and stood, pulling, hitting and chipping away at rocks once more.

He removed one, two, three, four rocks working quickly with determination.

A large pile formed behind him and he felt a surge of pain in his hand, scanning his palms to discover that the bandages were soaked through again, red, brown and wet. Daniel just squeezed his hands into a fist and kept working, determination in his blue eyes as they glistened in the moonlight.

Cameron paced impatiently in the gate room, his gaze alternating between the left entry doors and the clock, his mind running through every possible scenario of what he could be walking back into. Vala's intelligence from the planet insisted it was secure, but Cam couldn't help but wonder every time something went wrong that Anubis was somehow responsible and waiting in the wings, ready to show them what he was up to, finally.

He'd given Sam the memory stick from the Tok'ra and she had sent it straight to Zalenka for analysis, promising him that she would join him as soon as she had sent a team to rescue Adrienne and Teyla.

"What in the hell is taking Rodney so damn long!?" he swore, "Does he not realize we've got three people back there?"

"Cameron, it's ACID," Vala answered, for once the patient one, "Personally, I feel better knowing that he's securing it in something before we blast through that thing," she pointed at the Stargate.

"Well, he could still hurry," Cameron said as the medical team arrived, Dr. Lam in SG gear and her red crossed tack vest, flanked by two large orderlies.

"She's as bad as he is," Carolyn spat as she was doing the clasp on the front of her vest, obviously having gotten dressed in a hurry and Vala laughed, thinking how many times she had told her friend the exact same thing.

"I'm serious. How in the world Sam found that man someone who is as much trouble as he is I will never know. She must come in once a week having done something stupid to herself, and I know for a fact she's got Ronon and Teal'c patching her up in between visits to me," Dr. Lam continued, adjusting her uniform and signaling to Walter that her team was complete.

'Technically," Cam defended his buddy, "it was an earthquake."

"And technically it was smuggler, the Ori, Adria, parasites..." Dr. Lam listed.

"Ok, ok, she's like mini-Jackson, we get the point," Cameron agreed as Vala just stood there smiling.

"What?" Cameron asked her, wondering to himself if maybe Adrienne had told her as well.

"Nothing," Vala replied, noting confusion in Cam's face.

Did he know something that she didn't?

"Ready, let's go!" Rodney was yelling as he walked briskly around the corner with a large white canister that looked suspiciously like a paint sprayer. Deciding not to ask, although a part of him was worried about this acid in something as simple as a paint sprayer, Cam gave the signal and the gate began dialing.

Renewed confidence, Adrienne leapt from her seat on the floor, turning to face the rock wall again. She was gonna get out of here, not sit around like some damn damsel awaiting rescue; she was gonna get out of here, march out of this cave, grab her boyfriend by the front of his shirt and drag him back to her quarters.

"What are you doing?" Teyla asked, confused.

"I'm gonna get us out of here," Adrienne answered plainly.

"Then I will help you," Teyla stood and turned to face the wall as well.

"I know that Daniel'll come, but I'm not gonna just sit here like a gah damn capon waiting for some damn man," Adrienne defended, both her actions and her love.

And I need to talk to him, she thought, now.

"I understand. I was getting a bit anxious myself," Teyla said and together the two women began moving the rocks, quickly making a new stack behind them.

Daniel dropped another large rock onto the ground and looked back at the wall. It seemed smaller and it didn't appear as if more rocks had fallen to replace the old ones. He felt he was making progress and turned to pull himself upright seeing stars in his vision.

He shook his head, squeezed his bare, raw hands into fists and kept working.

One rock, two, three.

As Cameron crossed through the gate, he waited only long enough to see that the medical team and Rodney had made it through and then sprinted down the hill, Vala following close behind him. The cave wasn't far, a large gray obstruction in the blue green grass that glimmered in the starlight, but that wasn't what made Cam hold up his hand to halt the group, everyone behind him stopping and pulling their guns; it was the body slumped over a large pile of rocks, a body in a black t-shirt and black pants.

With a wave of his hand, Cam ordered the group approach slowly, but Vala shoved past him, running straight to their fallen comrade.

"Daniel," Vala leaned over him, shaking him gently to rouse him, paying no attention to the possibility of attack from a foe. Following her lead, Dr. Lam rushed over, falling to her knees, checking for a pulse.

"He's alive," she said and started to examine him for wounds, running her hands across him, searching for any type of bullet wound or other indicator. Looking him over carefully, she stopped at his hands, holding them in her own as she gazed back to Cameron.

"There doesn't appear to be anything wrong other than his hands. It looks like he literally passed out trying to take down this wall," she said.

"He has completely lost his mind!" Cameron exclaimed, resisting the urge to storm down to Daniel himself, wake the idiot up and rip him a new one.

"No, he hasn't," Vala said, still kneeling beside him, smoothing his hair down. Not commenting, Dr. Lam stood to go retrieve some supplies so Cameron knelt down beside Vala and the unconscious Daniel.

"Vala, do you know what is going on with him?" Cameron asked, wondering how much she knew.

"I do," she answered confidently.

"What? If he's sick or something else, I need to know to make sure he is not a danger to the team," Cameron led, not wanting to give anything away himself, playing the fool to see how much Vala really understood was going on.

"He's not," Vala responded quickly, adjusting him in her lap and removing his glasses, setting them gently aside.

Odd, if she knows that he's with Adrienne would she really be so touchy with him? the colonel couldn't help but wonder.

"Then what in the hell is going on?" Cameron hissed, almost blurting out the question that was really floating around in his head.

"He's in love," Vala replied.

"What?" Cam tried to play stupid, knowing full well that acting was not his forte, but hoping he would do just well enough to convince Vala, "With Addy?"

Vala frowned at him.

"Of course Addy you dolt, no he's in love with me. Madly, they both are, but for some idiotic reason they just keep lying to themselves, acting like they don't. Addy's always mumbling some nonsense about getting transferred if she says anything and that there are things I just don't understand, but it's just an excuse to whine to me," she explained as Daniel began to stir in her grasp.

"Huh," Cam lied one last time, relieved.

So, only he knew.

Alright, this wasn't all bad, he thought, I might be able to salvage this without having my team ripped apart.

"Feet pue tan!" Adrienne shouted and went to stick her cut finger into her mouth out of instinct, deciding against it just in time once she remembered what they had been doing, her hands covered in dirt and debris from moving the rocks from the wall to the pile behind them.

"Are you alright?" Teyla asked.

"Yea, just cut myself on a sharper one, but I'll live," Adrienne replied, shaking the wound out instead to banish the pain.

"We should take a rest for a while. I expect that they will come soon," Teyla responded.

Adrienne slunk back down to the floor of the cave and looked at her watch, knowing she had to, at the very least needed to let her finger clot, maybe wrap it in a bandage from her tac vest before continuing. It was 9:10 p.m., her stomach rumbling the moment her brain registered how late it was and she burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Teyla inquired.

"I'm hungry. If Daniel were here he would be trying to convince me that a Powerbar counts as food," Adrienne explained, imagining what it would be if the two of them were trapped in here.

That might have been nice, her thoughts wandered, a smile creeping across her face, a smile that she felt so appreciative to have again.

"Ok everyone, STAND BACK," Rodney ordered and Vala didn't argue. Weapons, fighting she had never been afraid of, but science gave her the creeps.

She'd leave those kinds of things up to her teammates.

Vala would have walked back over to where she had been trying to thin out rocks so they would have less to burn through, but for now she went over to where Dr. Lam was making Daniel sit and wait and sat down right beside him.

"Just a bit longer," she told him.

"Yeah and I bet they both are tired and hungry," he answered, a noncommittal answer, as if he was trying to make up for his extreme behavior earlier. Vala reached around and put her arm around his waist and he shrugged her away, like he always did, glaring at her angrily.

"Jesus Vala, not now," he told her and she laughed, but didn't say a word, just folded her arms back into her lap.

"Vala, can I talk to Daniel for a sec?" Cam appeared in front of them, glancing down at his friend and the man that was supposed to help him lead this team. Confused, she looked back and forth between them before standing, shrugging and walking over to where the doctor was setting up a station just in case Teyla and Adrienne were injured.

"Layer one!" Rodney shouted, "We will wait five minutes and move on to the next layer."

Daniel shook his head and sighed as Cam took a seat beside him, pointing the tip of his P-90 toward the rock structure.

"When they get through that you can't go racing down there like some god damn love sick puppy Daniel, are you hearing me?" Cam asked, cutting his eyes over at his teammate, embarrassment spreading across the archaeologist's face. Setting down the gun Cam continued, knowing he only had a very short time before he would be needed below.

"What the two of you do behind closed doors is your business, but what you two do on this team, how you two carry on on this team is my business. I understand how you feel about her, I do, but the way you acted today? You could have gotten yourself killed, kidnapped by Anubis, anything. I'm happy that you have found something with Addy, I am, but you need to step back and realize that we also have a job to do here," Cam advised, carefully, trying not to scold someone who could probably technically be considered his superior, but Daniel didn't say a word, just looked down at his bandaged hands.

"Alright, shouldn't be much longer now. I'm sure she's fine and I am happy for you guys, truly," Cam added, tossing his arms over his knees looking ahead as Rodney directed SG-7 and his small science team through the next step in the burn.

"Do you hear that?" Teyla looked over at Adrienne.

"Hear what?" she answered, not stopping, too intent on getting out of their prison. Her eyes scanning their surrounding as her ears heard the sounds again, Teyla reached over to grabbed her hand so she would stop.

"Listen," Teyla whispered, setting Adrienne's hand to her side. Holding her breath, the cajun stood in silence, listening carefully when she heard a low hissing sound coming from right in front of this.

"Sounds like a snake," Adrienne stated not particularly frightened but beginning to look around her feet hoping she wouldn't get bitten; she didn't want yet another reason to go to the infirmary.

"It's coming from the other side," Teyla insisted, and Adrienne finally realizing that a snake in a cave was probably not very likely, stopped once more, to listen again, recognizing the sound, a sound she had heard in Rodney's labs on one of her numerous errands.

"We need to back up," she said and just as she pushed Teyla back, the noise intensified. Pressing themselves far against a side wall, the women watched the rubble as it began to smoke, the gray plumes slowly hissing toward them. The rocks crumbled away, dissolving into piles of fine sand allowing a light to shine suddenly in their faces.

"Dr. Rowan? Teyla? Are you alright?" the voice was Dr. Rodney McKay.

Adrienne was both disappointed and elated as Teyla laughed lightly.

"Yes Rodney, we are fine. We are hungry but we are fine," Teyla answered.

"Ok great, come on then and be careful," Rodney said, very kindly Adrienne thought and that probably had something to do with Teyla. Leading the way, Teyla held on to the remaining portion of the wall, stepping slowly, and Adrienne followed, carefully tiptoeing over smoking rubble.

The light grew brighter and Adrienne could see where the rescue team had set up a series of lights to illuminate the entire cave area, lights so bright that she was unable to make out faces, just bodies. She was looking all around her for ...

"Looking for me?" Daniel spoke from behind her.

"Don't you wish," Adrienne teased, "I'm looking for something to eat," she tried to cover the excitement she knew was on her face, because what she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and plant her lips onto his. Turning to face him, she saw that his hands were heavily bandaged, her eyes widening in panic.

"Sha what happened?" Adrienne slipped, grabbing his hands, turning them in her own, trying to examine them but he pulled his hand away, shaking his head.

"Nothing, I was trying to get the rocks moved and, well, you know, I'm accident prone," he tried to joke. Adrienne cut her eyes, not believing him, knowing exactly what he had done to himself trying to get her out.

You've just turned my world upside down, haven't you Daniel, she thought to herself, leaning forward to whisper in his ear.

"Dr. Rowan," Dr. Lam came up behind her before Adrienne could say anything, "Let's see what you've managed to do to yourself this time," she pointed in the direction of a small portable she had set up on a flat part of the meadow. Adrienne looked back at Daniel and sighed as Dr. Lam walked away toward her med station.

"Go see what Dr. Grumpypants wants," he joked and Adrienne laughed.

"It is hysterical to hear even you call her that now," she answered and walked over to the doctor, reluctantly, smiling back over her shoulder at Daniel who was being led over to another table by Vala, a scolding looking of her own in her face and a small purple gadget in her hands. Teyla was being checked out by Jennifer Keller when Adrienne arrived, that pleasant smile still entrenched across her face.

"Teyla, you're lucky, not a scratch. I think you can go!" Jennifer said enthusiastically as Dr. Lam looked Adrienne over, but Teyla didn't leave, she just stood and waited for the doctor to conclude.

"Just the cut on your finger, but you're fine. It's a miracle," Dr. Lam reported to Adrienne, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Thankful to have avoided another lecture, even though this clearly wasn't her fault, Adrienne shrugged and stood, thanking her politely. This time, Teyla seemed ready to leave.

"We are alright. Everyone is alright. Thank the gods," Teyla said.

"I know, usually someone is taken away on a stretcher, so I think we lucked out," Adrienne responded, looking ahead for Daniel.

"Yes, we were lucky this time. But next time, or the next. We never know. That is why you must cherish what you have as long as you have it," Teyla advised, one final suggestion, placing her hand on Adrienne's shoulder before walking away.

"What was that all about?" and again Daniel was behind her.

"Seriously, we are changing your nickname. No more Indy. It is officially Eric," she turned around to face him.

"Why?" he laughed, "Does he have to get Pam out of trouble? Because I seem to get you out of a lot of trouble."

"No," she laughed, "but he's always popping up behind Sookie and scaring the bejeezus out of her."

"Sookie huh?" he teased, looking behind them to see if they had any unwelcome visitors.

"Yes Sookie. She got pretty badass at the end of Season 3 and into 4," Adrienne played, noticing that his hands were no longer bandaged, "What happened to your little accident?"

"I guess that makes Vala Pam, getting Eric out of trouble and driving Sookie crazy. Snatched up Carolyn's hand device and used some left over Quetesh to patch me up," he explained, holding up his palms and waving them. Pleased, Adrienne smiled, reaching for his hands, taking them in her own and disregarding the crowd around them.

"Indy, can we go back? I'm hungry and we need to talk," Adrienne requested quietly, suddenly nervous by her words.

"You hungry? So what else is new?" Daniel joked and swept his hands in front of himself dramatically in the direction of the gate, peering over his shoulder behind them.

"Is everything alright?" he whispered, worried that something was wrong and she stopped, gazing up into his breathtaking eyes.

"Everything is wonderful. Listen, I need to run to my quarters, I'll meet you at your room in an hour ok. Trust me, everything is just perfect," she stressed the last word, reaching for his fingers and squeezing them lightly. Nodding, and trusting her, let her step through first, pausing to look back at the caves before turning and slipping through the wormhole.

He sat in his room thinking, about what Cam had said, about what he had done. The colonel had a point, he had acted rashly, but he wasn't quite sure if that would change one way or the other, whether or not he and Adrienne were together.

Maybe this wasn't for the best, if Cam knew maybe he and Adrienne should cool it, maybe he should stop trying to push them a bit further.

Sitting there quietly on his bed, Daniel thumbed through the written memory of the only time in his life he had ever felt like this before, thinking about his future with a woman he never thought he'd have.

She felt so silly doing it, but Adrienne had dashed to her room and showered, changing clothes when she got out at least seven times before deciding to keep it simple, a black skirt and tights with a silky navy blue tank top, not even bothering with perfume or too much make-up, just putting on enough to hide a few blemishes. Daniel loved her for who she was, and had seen her at her highest and her lowest, still insisting she was beautiful, but she still wanted to look pretty for him; she wanted him to know that in her eyes he was worth every effort. Taking a deep breath as she looked at herself one more time in the mirror, Adrienne smiled.

"You deserve happy. Daniel makes you happy," she told herself, grabbing her backpack and slipping out into the hall.

"It's open," she heard him shout moments after knocking. Taking a breath, she turned the knob and pushed the door open, peering slowly and cautiously inside and there was Daniel, sitting on the edge of his bed with a small leather book in his hand, a leather book she knew well. She closed the door behind her and stood there, not approaching him, afraid of the look on his face and instantly forgetting her entire rehearsed speech.

"I haven't pulled this one out to read in a long time," he said to her without looking up, opening the book slowly and thumbing through the pages listlessly. Adrienne's heart was racing inside her chest, making her knees grow weak, the look on his face making her unsure as if this was the right thing to do.

"Why is that?" she asked, a question that she had never asked him, fearing it crossed the line between best friends, even between two people that loved one another, fearing what he had written inside that book.

She wasn't jealous, how could she be jealous of someone who was no longer there, someone she actually looked up to the more she learned about her, but it still tore her up inside.

That journal made a small part of her feel that she would never live up to Shar'e; that she would never be good enough for him.

"Because it reminds me of a different life, one that I lost," he answered quietly, still turning the pages and not reading them, having yet to make eye contact with her.

"Daniel, I'm - " she started, but he put up his hand, silently halting her words.

"You see, I'm not supposed to be happy. That time ended for me," he continued, closing the book in his hands and setting it onto his nightstand.

"I'm not following," Adrienne answered, confused.

Was he trying to tell her to leave?

Should she go? She knew he loved her, but maybe he was having second thoughts; that maybe love or not this wasn't meant to be.

"And then you. You show up and just throw a kink into everything. Don't you understand, this wasn't supposed to happen?" he looked up, smiling, no sadness, no tears, nothing but sheer joy in his face.

"Sorry," she answered, smiling back, biting her lip slightly as she did when she saw him rise from the bed. Without a word, Daniel walked over to her and placed his hand on her cheek, running his fingers down her jawline tenderly.

So what if Cam knew? Yes, he probably needed to be a little more rational when it came to Adrienne, but never in his life had he ever felt like this before, never had he been so happy, so at peace, and he wasn't about to let her slip away.

When he reached her chin, he grabbed it lightly, turning her face upward toward his own and he didn't say another word, just leaned in carefully and brought his lips to hers. He kissed her slowly and gently and then broke away, looking down at her, asking her with his eyes if she was ready. He knew, he must have known, there was something different about her, and for what seemed like an eternity they stood in the dim light of his room facing each other without saying a word.

Finally, taking it as a signal that she had been wrong, that some things really were meant to be, no matter how hard you fight them, no matter how scared you may be, Adrienne leaned up to kiss him again, with more passion that she had ever kissed him before, hoping that he could read in her kiss that it was alright. Reaching behind her head, Daniel pushed the door closed, engaging the lock and turning out the light.

Consequences be damned.

They didn't need words any longer, their kisses were enough. Adrienne reached behind his head and pulled his lips more forcefully to hers, sliding her tongue out and into his mouth, kissing him more frantically then she had ever kissed him before. She could taste coffee on his lips, able to tell he had used some of her hazelnut creamer rather than his own. When his tongue met hers, she continued to explore his mouth, running her hands sensually down his back. They broke apart once more and looked at each other, breathless in the dim light of the room, Daniel taken aback by her behavior, but she nodded her head slowly.

"I'm ready," she whispered quietly, taking his face into her hands. Lovingly, he gazed down at her in the dim light of his bedside lamp one final time making sure it was alright, making sure that her gorgeous brown eyes understood that he was going to take her to his bed and show her how he had felt about her for all of these heart wrenching months.

Standing on her toes, Adrienne wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him lightly on the mouth, the cheek, his ear and neck, lingering there for a moment, pecking lightly up and down his throat and he turned his head, letting her lips caress his skin, before jerking back suddenly. She was startled for a moment until she felt him lift her into his arms, like he had done so many times before, sometimes playing with her and other times to save her, but this time he was lifting her for a different reason, one she wanted now more than she had ever wanted anything else in her entire life.

He carried her over to the bed and laid her there gently, pausing as if he were uncertain what to do next and a part of him didn't know, frozen in time still unable to believe this was happening, that she was going to be his.

Smiling, Adrienne sat forward, reaching out for his waist, lifting his shirt from the bottom, starting to undress him ever so slowly. Breathing in, he stepped closer, letting her pull it over his head and toss the black fabric aside as he crawled on his knees into the bed with her.

Now it was her turn to freeze, not that the sight, Adrienne had seen him without a shirt more times than she could count, but at the feeling, because never before had she been filled with such desire. She wanted to touch him, to run her hands all over his chest, all over his body. Reaching out for his hips, she pulled him forward, scooting herself back onto the bed so that he would have to climb on and straddle her, which he did, throwing his knees on either side of her thighs as she sat up to meet him.

Once he had moved himself close enough, she began to kiss his chest and work her way down to his stomach, feeling him shiver with tension as she moved lower and lower, but when she got her lips to the waist of his pants, she felt his hand gently touch her cheek and bring her back up to face him. Shaking his head he scolded for a moment and didn't allow her to respond, kissing her lightly again and laying her onto her back.

He brought his face close to hers again but didn't say a word, simply turned his hand and ran his fingers lightly down her cheek, her jawline and her neck. She shivered herself now at the soft touch of his long fingers against the smoothness of her skin, and he just smiled, bringing his lips back to hers.

This time he led the kissing, licking her lips so carefully with the tip of his tongue and then moving in to explore himself. As he ventured in her mouth she could feel his hand on her waist, then the hem of her tank top and he gently slid his hand underneath the thin blue fabric to reach behind to her back. Sensing what he was trying to do, she brought her body up a bit, allowing him arrive at his destination. He fumbled with the clasp for a moment, swearing in French under his breath, but was finally able to undo the hook, letting go, sliding his hands gently back to her stomach.

"Can I take this off?" he asked as he was sitting up from her, his gentle hands waiting at the base of her shirt, wanting to go slowly with her, to make sure it was ok, to make sure that she knew that she was here with him and no one else and that he wasn't going to do anything that she didn't want him to do.

"Yea," she whispered, sitting up to allow him to pull the top over her head and toss it to the floor. Unfastened, her bra hung lightly at her shoulders, but he left that in place for the moment, returning his lips to her neck and kissing it slowly. Daniel moved his way to her collarbone, then back over to her shoulder, the skin of his mouth so very soft against her own. When he reached her loose strap, he guided it away gently with his palm, kissing each patch of skin it passed over and she began to tremble once more, a combination of nerves and being ticklish, making him laugh lightly at her shoulder. Knowing what was wrong, he chose not to stop but just kept kissing her softly, torturing her playfully.

He was going to kiss every inch of her tonight to make up for every second he wanted to take her into his arms and sweep her away but never had the courage to do so, until now, until he no longer cared about what would happen, what anyone would say, until she understood that she was safe with him.

He loved her, he wanted her, he needed her and he was going to make her his.

The strap now down her shoulder and past her bicep, he sat up on his knees once more, sliding both hands under the thin strips of black fabric, pulling the garment towards him. Gathering it up into his hands, Daniel tossed it to the floor, looking back at the beautiful woman that he fell in love with, that he was going to make love to now. He leaned over, pecking lightly at her collarbone, tracing it with his tongue, all the way to the base of her throat, when he changed direction slowly, kissing vertically down, past the gold chain she was wearing and in between her breasts. He slid a hand gently to cup one of them while he kissed his way over to the other, ever so slowly, making his way to the nipple when he hesitated, realizing this was the most intimate they had ever been and began to back away.

"What's wrong?" she sat up, taking her palm and laying it on his cheek as he sat up gazing into her eyes.

"There's no going back from this Ad. No pretending that we didn't, no undoing this," he said, the nerves clear in his perfect voice.

"I know sha," she answered, running her fingers down his jaw, "I'm alright with that if you are."

He took a deep breath, terrified of hurting her, she could tell, so as tenderly as she could, she slipped his glasses from his face, placing them gently onto his nightstand before guiding him back to her lips, kissing him deeply. She could feel his body relax again so she reached in between them and began to unbutton his pants, lightly, one BDU button at a time, pausing at each one to make sure it was alright.

He didn't fight or tense at her touch; he let her slowly undress him while he returned his lips to her chest, running his tongue lightly around the hardness he found there. Trying to retain focus but unable to, she shoved him away, giggling, arriving at the last button and reaching for his hips so she could pull his trousers from his waist. He let her pull downward and crawled off of her for just a moment, kicking them out of the way and creeping back onto the bed with her, where he saw she was smiling, shaking her head, giggling, as she brought her hands to his hips again, letting them run down his backside, pulling him onto her as she laid down.

"What?" he asked, stopping his advance toward her neck.

"I was just thinking these are a sexy choice," she whispered to him, "I will have to buy you more of these."

Running her fingers inside the waistband of his black boxer briefs and pausing just under his stomach, she teased there lightly for a moment. Laughing himself, because only he and Adrienne would have a conversation during something like this, he brought his lips to her ear.

"I'm glad you approve; all non-sexy underwear gets thrown away tomorrow, first thing," he muttered and returned his lips to where he left off, kissing her neck and then collarbone, running his tongue around her nipple lightly as his hand made it back to her breasts, making her gasp and remove her fingers from his boxers. He gave it a few more quick flicks with his tongue and then began to kiss downward slowly, exaggerated, down her stomach, making her quiver with anticipation. When he reached the top of her skirt he stopped kissing just long enough to reach down to her thigh and slide his hand up the side of her leg and into the garment. Hissing in, Adrienne arched her back, feelings of arousal completely taking over her body, her soul, every part of her accepting that this was happening, a fact confirmed by his hardness pressed against her shin as he knelt at her waist.

"Since when do you wear tights? These are gonna get in my way," he teased, tugging at them lightly.

"Then take them off, excuse me for trying to impress you," she smiled back, forcing herself not to beg, to plea for him to rip them from her body. Reaching higher into her skirt and to her hips, Daniel grabbed the waist of her tights pulling them downward, feeling bare flesh exposed against his knuckles as he moved them to the ground, noticing as he removed the fabric from her feet that Adrienne was giggling again, much to his complete bewilderment.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, worried, gazing up at her. It had been a while for him, much longer than he cared to admit and he would hate to think he was messing any of this up, especially with her, especially after everything she had been through. He wanted this to be special for her.

"I think you took off more than you intended," she replied, pointing to the floor and in the dim light he could see her panties stuck inside the tights, quickly realizing that the thin black skirt and his underwear were the only thing separating the two of them from total nudity. He smiled again at her, the smile he only gave her, and laughed a bit.

"I meant to do that," he lied, having made other plans for those black Victoria Secret panties she liked to wear, the ones that he pretended not to notice on missions when they had to share quarters, ones he had pretended not to notice every time he saw her less than fully dressed, the ones that drove him wild.

"Sure Indy," she laughed and pulled him toward her, wanting his lips again pressed to hers. He kissed her with intent and with love, in a way he could only do with her, that he only ever wanted to do with her.

Kissing her deeply, he slid his hand back to her leg, which she had brought up and wrapped around his waist to grind herself against him. His heart racing, he ran his hands up to her bare hip and around her butt, tight and firm from running, and squeezed, feeling himself begin to lose control a bit as he reached down to the top of her thigh and let himself slip his hand between her legs. She arched her back, breathing in, murmuring some French of her own, allowing him to slide his fingers inside of her. He did this slowly as well, wanting to tease her, to touch her, to enjoy her reaction as he made her grow wetter and she moaned softly as he continued to run his gentle touch all around inside her skirt, rubbing her lightly on the outside and then slipping into her once more.

Her breathing became more labored and she sat up slightly, reaching behind her back frantically, desperate to remove their last impediments, so he shoved her hands aside to do it himself, undoing the hook at the top of the waist and unzipping the zipper. She scooted back onto the bed further, tossing the skirt to the floor as she moved and he froze for a moment, realizing that there she was, the woman he had only dreamed could exist, laying there naked on his bed. She smiled knowing why he was pausing, the feeling was causing her own heart to race as well, but she was ready, ready for this to happen, ready to give herself to him.

"Shug, are you plannin' on participating in this," she joked, pointing at his boxers, his erection pushing them forward, revealing his body's intent even if his mind hadn't caught up to it. Smiling in embarrassment, he reached down for the waistband to remove them, but she pushed his hands aside, intent on doing this herself, pulling downward slowly, carefully around the swell, and he quickly kicked them to the floor.

When he looked back at her, she was reaching forward to touch him, so he crawled closer on the bed to allow her, wanting to feel her hands on his body. Taking him gently into her palms, she clasped him lightly, working him in an upward and downward motion, lightly squeezing him at the tip. He let out a groan and started to push down onto her shoulders, trying to get her to lay into her back, finished with teasing, with waiting and heeding his request, she let go, reaching up for his face to bring him into a kiss before bringing him into her body. He kissed her long and hard and positioned himself in between her legs where he needed to be, checking once more with his fingers to see if she was ready and she hissed again, arching her pelvis toward, begging him with her hips.

"Adrienne, I want you to be sure," he whispered softly, stopping his exploring for a moment and running the outside blade of his hand down her cheek, visions of that night coming into his head, the night where she cried in his arms thinking that she was broken, damaged, and wanting her to know that he loved her and wanted to show her, not hurt her. Rubbing her nose lightly against his, she pecked his lips, bringing her lips to his ear.

"I love you. I'm sure Daniel, because it's you," she murmured in response and unable to wait any longer, he reached under her waist, pulling her closer and slowly, carefully, lovingly, pushed his way into her, making her throw back her head and gasp out.

"Oh god Daniel," she panted, bending her back to allow him to drive in deeper. She wanted to scream, she wanted him to thrust harder, the feeling was so amazing, like she had never experienced before, the feeling of ultimate closeness with someone you love, the way it was supposed to be, the way it was supposed to feel.

Despite her writhing underneath of him, he tried hard to pace himself, knowing it had been a long time since he had been intimate with a woman and fearing inside he would lose control too soon, but she was so warm, so inviting, and every time he pushed into her sensations ran through his body that he had never felt before. It was all so perfect, this was perfect, she was perfect, so, in contradiction to what his body was telling him to do, he made love to her slowly, never wanting it to end.

In total ecstasy, Adrienne reached for his shoulders as he thrust into her, to bring him closer to her body, wanting him as close as possible if he was going to make love to her this slowly, desiring his touch on every inch of her skin.

He came to meet her, their bodies now moving slowly as one, each of them gasping for air and moaning one another's names as if they needed to constantly remind themselves that this was happening; that they were making love to their best friend, who was really so much more.

He tried to hold onto her as he moved his way in and out of her while she clenched him so tightly inside, but she slipped from his grasp, laying back down on the bed, his bed, dear God she was in his bed with him, making love to him, and he pushed in harder and faster, holding onto her hips as he pumped into her.

She watched him as he made love to her, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the dim light of the lamp and she ran her hands lovingly down his cut jaw and over to his lips, where he would lightly kiss her fingers before she pulled them away and even occasionally would open his mouth to suck one finger lightly and then release before she could start to giggle. Daniel was so relaxed here with her, so open and playful, watching her smile as he kissed her fingertips or gasp as he pushed in further.

Adjusting his position, the urge to kiss her taking over once more, Daniel moved his torso still closer to hers bringing his lips to her neck where he kissed and nibbled in contrast to his thrusting, causing her to giggle in pleasure and gasp in ecstasy.

Suddenly, as if they were completely in sync with one another, both of their paces quickened, Adrienne bucking her hips and squeezing him so tightly inside of her and Daniel's thrusts became more forceful, pushing into her, pushing her backward onto the bed, no longer as clear an in and out motion.

There was a tingle deep inside of his stomach, an amazing climbing feeling and he knew he couldn't contain himself much longer.

Sensing the same sensation inside of herself that she knew he was feeling, the expression on his face giving him away, she pulled him closer and further into her body, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, beginning to rock into him.

He threw back his head for a moment to breathe, driving himself harder before gazing back into her eyes. He loved her, more than he had loved anyone else before, anyone, ever and he had never imagined that love like this was even possible, but here she was, right here, with him, in the closest way two people could be together. He let himself go and she screamed out underneath of him, grabbing hard at his shoulders, holding on as she panted his name rhythmically. He almost laughed, of course Adrienne would be a screamer, but he was so caught up in his own ecstasy that he just gasped out and pushed harder, muttering things in Egyptian that he couldn't even comprehend. He felt her relax before he did, but she didn't try to back away, just continued to clench him and rock until she was certain he was finished, kissing his neck and whispering his name.

Breathing out heavily once more, the build came to a crashing end, a wonderful crashing end, and he leaned forward onto his arms, holding himself over her, not wanting to hurt her in anyway and he smiled again, laughing, as she shook her head.

"Come here," she fussed, pulling his full weight onto her and wrapping her arms around him but not satisfied with the inability to hold her as well, he grabbed the best he could and rolled them to their sides, cradling her carefully in his arms on the tiny bunk. She laughed again at the gesture, so he leaned in to kiss her softly, pulling back, his face mere breaths from hers.

"Adrienne, I - " he made a face like he was going to apologize or say something otherwise to kill the moment so she just put her finger to his lips and he smiled, kissing it, letting her quiet him.

"I'm gonna to go to the bathroom for just a moment, but can I stay with you tonight, like this?" she whispered.

"Of course," he answered without hesitation.

She stood and he watched her beautiful body slip into his bathroom, like it was some magical dream he was going to wake up from any second. Taking a breath, he stood himself, looking for a towel when she came back out of the bathroom, still naked, gliding back over to him. Forgetting about clothes, she did say 'like this' after all, Daniel pulled back the blanket, reaching out for her, clasping her fingers and pulling her to him, into a close embrace and passionate kiss. Remembering how she liked to sleep away from the door, he lifted the blankets for her, waiting for her to crawl in and over to the wall so he could slip in behind her, wrap his arms around her, but she paused, shaking her head.

"I'm safe with you Daniel," she told him, the feeling in her words overwhelming him, that after everything she had been through, for as tough as she was, it was him that made her feel safe. Containing his emotion, not wanting to appear weak to her as she was making him feel so strong, he got into bed and scooted over to the wall, reaching out for her and she slid herself into the safety and comfort of his arms.

She moved as close as possible toward him, letting him hold her, as he had so many times before, drifting off into sleep closer to him, closer to anyone, not just physically but closer emotionally than she had ever been before

He had reached over and shut off the lamp as she was getting comfortable the lights flickering down to nothing as she pulled herself so close to him that any closer and he would be inside of her once more. He smiled at the thought, not of the pleasure of that action alone, but that she trusted him enough, loved him enough to be with him in that way, to let him make up for what had been done to her. Overwhelmed by everything, he leaned forward, tenderly brushing her hair from her cheek, kissing the exposed skin lightly.

"Ad?" he whispered, but she was asleep. Laughing at the absurdity of it all, that he had just made love to her for the very first time, and here she was asleep in his arms before he even was able to tell her why, that this wasn't just sex, that this was so much more than he ever expected.

That she was the surprise he never expected.

Laying back on the pillow, he held her closely, kissing her head.

"I love you Adrienne, my besherta, and we're going to make this work. I can't live without you," and he lay there in the darkness, his soulmate in his arms, until he followed her to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Fan Full Version

He heard the music blasting as he turned the corner and remembered their dinner conversation, how Vala declared they should party all night to switch over to the reverse schedule before the mission. It was an important mission, and they needed to reverse their body clocks. Their objective was to try and track down Anubis and this secret army, an army that their spies kept reporting was growing at an alarming rate, with no one really knowing why or what he was up to. The coordinates they had acquired from their undercover mission with Vala proved to be a location in deep space, almost to the edge of the galaxy, not near any known Stargate.

They had spent much of the past week racing around the SGC, Teyla hooked up to various machines in Rodney's lab to jog her memory as to anything she might have seen during her brief captivity, Adrienne and Vala questioned extensively, their clothes taken for DNA samples as well, making Daniel very glad that Vala had interrupted he and Adrienne's in cell rendezvous.

That would have been some DNA he would have preferred not to explain...

Vala had also managed to grab one of the weapons from their attackers before Daniel beamed them back to the ship, the strange bastardized gun under full scrutiny by the weapons department. It was still going to take a couple of days and a crazy amount of meetings but once they had a better idea as to what needed to be done, a team would be sent aboard the Daedalus but to do what Daniel wasn't exactly sure, and to be honest, he wasn't exactly sure he even wanted to be included on the mission.

As the SGC's lead archaeologist approached the entrance to the lab, the music just grew louder and louder and he grew angrier and angrier. Vala had become much less annoying with Adrienne around to balance her out, making her tone down her more extreme behaviors, but it seemed that she had gotten bored with behaving and was back to her old tricks, most likely in some kind of passive aggressive retaliation and payment for keeping their secret. As he drew nearer, however, he recognized the music, and knew instantly who was to blame.

"Oh come on Ad..." he whispered. He should have known; music wasn't Vala's thing, it was Adrienne's and to confirm this, he heard a pause, the next track starting, one he had heard many many many times before.

"FLO-RIDA!" he heard her voice shouting in approval, the song being about some sort of wild child, so very appropriate for the lovely cajun woman that was dancing around his lab, that had become the most important person in his life.

Dammit, he thought, it was so much easier to be angry when it was Vala.

He walked through the doorway to see Adrienne wearing only those tight damn short running shorts and an equally as form-fitting Reebok t-shirt.

Why did she have to do this to him?

Sometimes it felt as if she took every tight article of clothing that she ever owned and pulled it out just to wear around him and torture him.

Damn woman had created a monster.

Much to his dismay, although he knew the colonel meant nothing by it, Cam was dancing right behind her, hands on her hips while Vala and Ronon were dancing over by his desk. He was going to have to reconsider this Adrienne is really not a virus thing; it seemed that her insanity was contagious.

"Indy!" she yelled, abandoning Cam, racing over to him, grabbing the files from his hands and setting them on top of her computer. Already moving to the music, she grabbed his hips pulling him over to her and started to dance.

"Ad, you know I can't dance," he argued, but was already laughing at her determination to make him have fun, to get her to fulfill this silly little fantasy of hers.

"Indy, anyone can dance, I've told you a million times, trust me, just follow," she put his hand on her waist, her arms on his shoulder and began to move. Shaking his head, Daniel followed her to the center of the room where she had pushed the tables against the chalkboard to make room for a dance floor.

"Jackson, you stole my partner!" Cam yelled across the room a huge smile on his face, making Daniel feel somewhat at ease. He knew and Daniel didn't even care anymore: he only cared that the colonel seemed to disapprove of their relationship, thinking it would change the team but lately he had started to see reason, that Daniel and Adrienne could continue to work together without their relationship interfering and the last mission was just further proof of that.

"Then get your sexy ass over here, I can handle two even if Addy can't!" Vala shouted from around Ronon, who seemed to be disappointed at her offer.

He knew too now, Adrienne felt like he ought to know and had pulled him aside the other week to tell him. Daniel didn't care about that either, in fact, it seemed that the Sateadan had set his sights on a new target, one that really shouldn't have surprised him, but it did.

"Sorry Mitchell, but I think you got dumped," Daniel joked, as he kept dancing, closely but poorly, with his assistant, his more than assistant, someone who was just his.

God he loved this woman.

"You're trouble," he said to her once the others were laughing and dancing at the other side of the room.

"Me? This was Vala's idea. I just had the tunes and the speaker," she winked.

"I distinctly remember telling you a long time ago that my lab was not to be turned into a disco tech," he joked, but didn't stop dancing with her, laughing loudly as she reached to fix his hips yet again, desperately trying to get him to follow her and the beat.

"I didn't. This is more of a hip hop club," she smiled, throwing her arms around his neck and leaning up to kiss him.

"WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!"

Daniel spun Adrienne around to see the doorway and there stood General Jack O'Neill in all of his four star glory, wearing full dress uniform his face bearing an expression that Daniel didn't want to see, especially given that those brown eyes of his were glaring at Daniel's hands as they were tightly clasping Adrienne's waist.

Before Daniel could say a word in their defense he saw that he was flanked by two men in dress suits that he didn't know, but they looked serious. Dropping his hands, he didn't need to tell Adrienne to shut off the music, she was already reaching onto her desk for the remote and had hit stop, stepping away from him quickly. Confident that the men behind him could not see, Jack gave Daniel a clear "I can't believe this is going on RIGHT now" look, his eyes darting between both archaeologists, nearly shaking with anger.

"Sorry, eh Jack, I mean general, we have to stay up all night so we were just trying to pump ourselves up a bit to make it through," Daniel answered, trying to remain calm, reading the look in his friend's face, the look that said he knew exactly what was going on and he didn't need to walk into anything more intimate to figure that out.

Opening his mouth to speak, Jack stopped as Vala waltzed up, throwing her arm around Daniel, facing O'Neill and his guests.

"Sorry boys, this is my fault. Just trying to stay awake to switch to the night shift. Goodnight lover," she declared, kissing Daniel square on the mouth, him fighting her off as always, strutting out of the room. Adrienne turned her head and tried not to laugh, appreciating her friend's act since Jack still seemed to be staring at Adrienne like she had done something wrong, while Cam and Ronon scurried out behind her.

"Dr. Jackson, this is Dr. Peterson the IOA liaison at area 51 and Mr. Lordes from the UN," Jack introduced, the tone in his voice indicating that he was still not happy, Vala taking the blame or not.

Adrienne tensed; she would owe Daniel later... big time...like take over for at least five sucky meetings big time.

"They're here to see the progress that you and Dr. Rowan have made on the Asgard database," Jack continued, Adrienne leaping up seeing the opportunity to make it up to him.

While the rest of the team had been stuck on Anubis, Daniel had made sure to keep Adrienne moving forward on the database whenever she could, if not for any other reason but to prove how valuable she was should they be caught. So far it was still a lot of history, but there had been a few new gate addresses here and there, those discoveries thrilling to both archaeologists.

Nodding excitedly, she ducked between the tables and over to the chalkboard, flipping it onto the white side she had installed a few months back and locked it in place while she heard Daniel continue to bumble through an explanation of their little dance party as he pushed the tables back into position. Adrienne excused herself in front of them, getting a dirty look from Jack in the process and then grabbed a chair, climbing on top of it and pulling a chord hanging from the ceiling.

Out of the corner of his eye Jack saw what she was doing and tried not to give her the satisfaction of a smile. She was a clever woman for sure and had a very specific talent for pulling shit out of her ass, good shit, shit that got them kudos from the people with the pocketbooks. While he'd never admit it aloud, he kinda liked her, even though he was fairly certain that she had pulled Daniel into her web of insanity, most likely sans pants.

There was a dash of rushing cajun past him, and he watched her hit the button on the machine, a light filling the room, pointing over at the white board.

"Gentlemen, if you would like to take a seat, I've tried to keep up with the amazing things that Dr. Jackson has been able to accomplish down here, so I only have a portion prepared for you right now, but I'm happy to show you what I have been able to put into a presentation," she hopped down and hurried over to her desk, grabbing her iPad and tapping her fingers around quickly on the screen. A series of images with notes and equations appeared on the whiteboard and Adrienne began to present, starting with the other Earth civilizations that had interaction with the Asgard and the list of recommended planets to explore, each gate address carefully catalogued and organized using her system Daniel was quick to note.

Smiling, Daniel just stepped back and let her do her thing, trusting her completely, counting himself lucky yet again that he managed to end up with someone so brilliant. Clearing his throat, Jack stepped back to join him, needing to talk to him about a few things, a few very important things, well one very important thing, that was giving a presentation in tight black running shorts to his bosses...

"Look, I'm glad you have rejoined the human race, I am, but you need to rein her in a bit, keep it quiet," Jack whispered.

"Jack, she was just trying to keep everybody awake and moving. We're on reverse days for at least two weeks, maybe more if we are the group shipped out to find Anubis. And what do you mean rejoin the human race?" Daniel stood back and crossed his arms, annoyed by the assumption.

Just because he didn't feel the need to sleep his way around the base, not that Jack had but he seemed to have felt for years that Daniel should, didn't mean that there was anything wrong with the way he had lived before.

"Come on, you and her aren't?" Jack asked, trying, yet again, to get Daniel to admit what Jack knew to be true. Men don't do things that they hate, like dance, to music that they hate, like rap, with their grubby paws all over a woman if they aren't getting any.

That just went against nature.

"No Jack, we've been over this," Daniel replied. It really wasn't that Daniel cared anymore who knew, but as the head honcho Jack might have to make some decisions that Daniel didn't want made and he didn't want to put his friend in that position or have someone at the IOA level ship the love of his life across the country.

"Daniel, we know you sleep at her place and vice versa," Jack said, sharing the one tidbit of information that Sam had leaked. Jack didn't know they were having damn adult slumber parties and had just about choked on his beer when his wife informed him of that. That was a clear indicator that his good buddy was up to no good; who in the hell sleeps at their assistant's place almost every weekend and isn't getting laid.

"On the sofa. We're just good friends," Daniel argued, standing his ground, lying through his teeth.

Damn Adrienne, he thought; she's right; she's made me an expert liar.

Jack scowled, knowing Daniel well enough to know that he was full of shit, but wasn't going to get into a shouting match while his lover tried to save their faces with the assholes he had to babysit this evening.

"Fine, I take that back. You're an idiot," Jack shook his head and changed his expression to one of false politeness as he made his way back to their guests.

Adrienne was just wrapping up her presentation and the men looked to be in a considerably better mood, much to Daniel's relief. A long list of new planets to explore, any of which could provide money, bombs, whatever the hell else they wanted to hear was enough to please them, keep them out of his hair for a while longer.

Standing from where he had been sitting in the back of the room, Daniel thanked them, shaking their hands and they left the lab, Jack following close behind, not bothering to look back at his friend. Daniel waited until the coast was clear before turning back to Adrienne, a look of his own plastered across his face.

"I don't know if I should thank you or fuss at you," he walked over to her, hands crossed in front of him.

"I was just trying to have fun; I really didn't think that we'd have company," she said as she slipped over to the door of the lab and closed it, shutting it tight to engage the lock. She sauntered back over to him and pushed him back against the center table, slipping her arms around his waist and bringing her lips to his neck.

"We're breaking our rule..." he said but grabbed her face to look into her eyes, relenting and letting himself slip into their kiss. As she backed up smiling at him, running her hands sweetly down his arms, she noticed that he wasn't.

"Did Jack say something to upset you? Are those guys gonna put us back on the Ori junk? That isn't getting us anywhere, Vala's intelligence has gotten us further than playing with that damn corpse has," Adrienne argued, backing up a bit further but not letting go of him.

She never wanted to let go of him.

"I think he's figured us out," Daniel responded honestly, terror in his voice. The truth of the matter was that sooner or later they were going to have to face this if they wanted to have a real relationship and Daniel wanted a real relationship.

He was fairly certain that Adrienne did too.

"Uh oh, and?" Adrienne asked, now letting go, worried, fears of being shipped off to some other facility racing through her head and to make it worse, Daniel's face still looked concerned.

"He was kinda hard to read. You know how he is. He welcomed me back to humanity and when I denied it, he called me an idiot," Daniel answered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Wait? Adrienne thought, an idiot?

Smiling, she approached him again, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.

"You are an idiot sometimes," she laughed, "that's probably why I love you so much. If Jack doesn't care, I think we're in the clear." He didn't answer at first, just hugged her tighter and kissed her head.

"I hope you're right. Pretty soon one of us is going to look at the other the wrong way and we're gonna be in Sam's office doing a lot of explaining," he said.

A lot of explaining, he thought, two months' worth of explaining.

Daniel had envisioned the conversation in his head a million times as he and Adrienne cuddled in bed, Adrienne fast asleep while he lay there, worried.

_Sam, I have something to tell you. _

_Sure Daniel, what's up?_

_Adrienne and I are together. Like a couple together. I'm in love with Adrienne. _

_That's great Daniel; I'm so happy for you guys. You're fired. _

He had a million other versions too, ones that included her being fired, her being sent to Area 51, the reconstructed Gamma site, the Delta site and one nightmare where she was betrothed to Ronon to gain the trust of what was left of the Saetadan people, people that they couldn't even have contact with until Atlantis was fully operational once more.

They were all stupid scenarios of course, but he still worried that if this all blew up on the wrong day, any one of those would come true.

"Sha? You in there?" Adrienne asked as she walked over to him in a very seductive fashion, her hips swaying lightly in those running shorts, those god damn running shorts, why in the hell was she wearing those running shorts? He felt himself throb and she must have noticed as she began to giggle, reaching for his waist as she came to a stop in front of him.

"I guess you are," she teased, unfastening his belt and making quick work of the top button. Well, he thought, if Jack is going to catch me I might as well go down in a blaze of glory, and reached for the back of her shorts, beginning to tug them to the ground.

"Honey, I'm home!" Jack shouted as he entered the front door of his home for the first time in two weeks, having been stuck on base dealing with the endless stream of bullshit caused by Vala's latest little expedition, which in his humble opinion, had gotten them nowhere. Sam stuck her head out of the kitchen in complete shock as Jack walked over to the closet, opening the door and hanging his coat inside.

"I must be dreaming, who are you and what have you done with my overworked husband?" she asked as she exited the kitchen, glass of white wine in hand. It was nearly two in the morning, but she just couldn't sleep knowing that during this, with SG-1 all on the night shift, Woolsey had his paws all over her things and all over this latest mission.

Shrugging, Jack tossed his briefcase onto his old recliner and walked up to her, removing the glass from her hand, setting it on the coffee table and hugging his wife tightly.

She was right, he hadn't been home often enough; he missed home, and he missed her.

"Meetings done. I shut that snotty Weasley man up, let Daniel's little pet flash some fancy slide show at his buddies and bam over," Jack replied, kissing Sam gently and backing up. He was just starting to unbutton his uniform jacket as Sam shook her head at him.

"His name is Woolsey, not Weasley," she corrected reaching down for her glass of wine. Laughing, Jack tossed his jacket over to the recliner as well and walked into the kitchen in search of food. The last thing he had eaten was a stale pack of crackers at his desk at god knows what hour and he was starving.

"Have you looked at that man?" Jack asked over his shoulder as he made his way to the fridge, "I think I'm pretty close to the mark. But it wasn't just him anyway, it was that little UN liaison weasel. Two different weasels," he clarified as his wife giggled, following him, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"There's take out on the top shelf, but it's cold," she replied, having ordered enough for him, as always, in the hopes that he might come home tonight.

She understood his job as he understood hers, but they had waited so long and there was a part of Sam that still wanted that fairy tale ending, even if it meant they kept insane work hours.

This was why she started implementing mandatory leave and vacations, because it wasn't until she was on the other end of things that she finally understood how important family was, even if it was just a family of two.

On the top shelf, as promised, Jack found the chinese box and smiled.

"This is why I love you; a woman not afraid of some good Mushu Pork," Jack said as he stood, closing the fridge door and grabbing some chopsticks from the counter. He snapped his fingers, opening the fridge door once more, securing himself a beer, coming to plop down at the table, Sam smiling the entire time just glad to have a meal with him even though she had enjoyed her own hours before.

"So, how did it go?" she asked and took a sip of her wine. Not that she wanted to talk about work, but she could never resist her husband's recap of a meeting; it made reading the report the next day much more entertaining.

"Just like I said it would. They're halting that stupid Destiny crap until we hit the three year mark. It's like they are all living in a Sci-Fi movie or something. Even if we gate over there, we have no idea what in the hell we're gating into. We just need to wait. In the meantime, between the Anubis mess and that cloning crap of Rodney's, we have plenty of things to worry about, but nonetheless they still wanted to go down to nerdville and see what in the hell Daniel and his girlfriend have been up to," Jack said, shoving a chopstick full of meat and noodles into his face.

Sam was pleased. She hated to not handle things like this herself, but sometimes, like when they gave her the brush off for being a woman, she liked to remind the powers that be that she was married to the most powerful man in the department.

"Thank you, now I just hope that keeps Woolsey out of my office," she said sincerely, a part of her still wondering if Hammond or even Landry had to deal with as much garbage. She knew Jack had when he was in charge for a brief spell, but Jack also enjoyed toying with people like Woolsey and other bureaucrats and Sam just didn't have the patience for ignorance like her husband did.

Taking a few more bites and a swig of beer, Jack swallowed quickly, pointing the chopsticks at her, having something else to say.

Sam looked at him strangely, wondering what else could have possibly gone on in that meeting, one that she was very thankful to have avoided so she waited for him to compose himself, sipping her wine.

"I think Daniel's banging Dr. Perky," Jack said finally and Sam fell forward, spraying wine into her hand as she shot it up to her face. Trying to compose herself, she swallowed what bit was left in her mouth, grabbing for a napkin to wipe her face.

"What?" Sam asked as the wine dribbled down her chin, one hand wiping herself frantically while the other was signaling for Jack to keep talking.

"I think that Daniel is sleeping with his assistant, you know like sex, a lot of sex," Jack restated, in a more adult fashion, well as adult as her husband was going to be about such things and Sam shook her head, knowing that he wasn't understanding her question.

"I heard what you said Jack, I want to know what makes you think that," she inquired.

"The way they act together. They're all," he paused for a moment, searching for the correct word, "chummy." Sam laughed.

'They've become pretty good friends, that's all," Sam answered, starting to drink her wine again.

She was slightly disappointed inside; she had kind of hoped they were together, quietly of course, she couldn't risk them out in the open, but she couldn't find any evidence of the sort.

Sure, Adrienne was a bit more touchy with Daniel now, but no more than she was with Cameron, Teal'c or Vala for that matter.

Daniel was very protective of her as well, overly protective it seemed at times, but other than the night at her house so many months ago where Adrienne had declared loudly and drunkenly her love for Daniel, she hadn't really said anything else and neither had he.

In fact, Sam had started to give up.

"Yeah, but they speak all in codes and look at each other like no one else is there," he said, digging for more meat in the pile of noodles as Sam nodded.

"They've been doing that for a while. They switch languages and whatnot so no one else knows what they're saying. I agree, that's a bit nerve racking," she admitted.

Sam had been in large group meetings when the two of them would get into a heated argument in French, switch to Spanish, over to Ancient and then top it off in Goa'uld. It was confusing and sometimes if one or both of them stormed out between the team she could get a gist of what they were saying but sometimes not. It was as if the two archaeologists had created a language all of their own that no one else spoke and at times it was indeed very annoying.

"No, no, I've heard their weird little French and Spanish crap. I mean in code. It's English, but in code. As they were leaving Daniel said something to her about Bon Bons or something and she said ocho, which I know is Spanish for eight and then he starts talking about the damn weather tomorrow. It made no damn sense, but Dr. Perky knew what he was talking about and left smiling. I think they were deciding a hook up point," Jack finished off the beer and stood to get another, glancing behind him to see his wife's response.

"Adrienne, honey, her name is Adrienne and that's not evidence of anything other than their geekiness. Which shouldn't bother you because you married a geek yourself," Sam smiled, teasing.

Maybe he was right, maybe it was a hook-up point, she thought, deciding that she needed to do some more fishing first thing tomorrow morning.

Jack, disregarding her joke, kept talking.

"I know her name Sam and again, I think I've hit the mark with that one pretty good too. But answer me this, what about his sudden social life? Other than movie night and what, two dinners with Vala, that man hasn't left his hole in years for anything fun. Anything. Now all of a sudden, he's out every single day that he's not working, a lecture here, dinner there and ever damn time it's with her! Sam, I caught him in the lab practically dry humping her, or trying to, to that damn rap music of hers! And he's ... happy," Jack continued, emphasizing the word happy with disdain in his voice.

Sam couldn't help but laugh at his last reason; Jack was right but, really, god forbid Daniel was happy. After everything the man had been through, happy was definitely what he deserved.

"And what if they were?" Sam asked, awaiting his response, never having broached the topic with him before. Frowning, Jack opened the fridge door and took out another beer, twisting the cap and returning to the table, sitting down.

"I don't know, is he supposed to be scoring with his assistant? I know they're civilians, but isn't that just a little too close to home?" Jack asked, turning it back on her. Sure, he had teased Daniel about it, the woman was a cute little thing and the two of them seemed way too close, but he really wasn't so sure that hooking up with one's assistant, much less one's teammate was such a good idea. After all, he and Sam had waited but they weren't civilians.

Would they have waited were it not for years of military training and regulations telling them they had to? What were the regulations for people like Daniel and Adrienne?

Sam leaned forward a bit on the table, pushing the wine glass aside.

"If they are, no one knows and obviously it's not interfering with their work so leave them alone. We can cross that bridge when we get there," Sam replied, wondering what she really would do if they were together.

What would Woolsey say?

He had been trying to do away with Adrienne's position since day one.

Jack, however, didn't respond, just drank his beer, starting to think to himself that maybe he was just hoping that Daniel finally found someone that made him happy.

The magnifier slammed onto the floor, it's glass shattering into a million pieces across the lab, the noise from its impact on the floor echoing throughout the room. Adrienne's heart stopped at the sound and she looked back at Daniel, panicked, who had stopped his thrust, releasing his tight grip from her bare hip, his pants at his ankles.

"You did that," she said quickly, realizing that it might not have been the wisest idea to let him throw her up on the table, as fun as it seemed at the time, as good as it was, as very very very good as it was.

"No, you started it. You locked the door and waltzed over here with one thing on your mind," he accused, pulling back from her, his face red with embarrassment as he knelt quickly, pulling his pants back up, suddenly unable to believe he had let them get carried away like that, at work no less.

Damn tight running shorts, he thought, damn Adrienne.

"No, you slammed me up onto the table with one thing on your mind," she replied, slipping away back over to her desk, trying find where they, well where he, had thrown her shorts, but gave up, laughing now in embarrassment, rushing to her locker to grab her spare BDU's.

"I said let's go back to my quarters, you obviously didn't want to wait," he teased, not really mad about the magnifier but still regretting this little indiscretion.

This wasn't like him, what had Adrienne done to him, but then she smiled, that smile she only gave to him, slowly turning around as he buttoned his pants, walking over to help him clean up the magnifier mess.

She changed my life is what she did, he thought, she brought me back from the brink.

"Sorry, ok, fine, my fault," she said, laughing, returning to the scene of the crime to help him pick up the mess. Kneeling beside him though, another thought popped into her head.

"What are you gonna say happened?" she asked, worried. They had really crossed a line here, a line they should have known better than to cross, given it was in this exact same fashion that Vala found out and they were just damn lucky that she hadn't slipped or blackmailed them for that matter. The last thing Adrienne wanted was for Woolsey to finally have an excuse to ship her to Area 51 or to fire her.

The all-important Daniel Jackson or not, she wasn't supposed to be sleeping with her boss, period and she was fairly certain that having sex on a mission, well, two missions now, and in the lab was a fireable offense.

"That I was having my way with my assistant on my desk and she knocked it over," he teased, trying to be funny, seeing the worry in her eyes, the same worry that was ripping through him at the exact moment.

They needed to cool it, at least here, and fast.

Forcing a laugh, Adrienne shoved him playfully and he shook his head, having finally come up with a real excuse.

"That I was trying to use it, but it's gotten so old that the clamp broke. I was pushing down on it to get a closer look and it popped up and fell over, end of story. I've been asking for a new one of these for a while now so I guess I owe you a thank you," he said, leaning up to kiss her lightly. She returned the gesture and backed up, sitting on her heels, smiling again.

"In that case, you're welcome," she replied, hoping it was that easy and stood, returning to pack her things as Daniel went to grab the broom from the corner of the lab. Her items shoved away, she looked over her shoulder as Daniel was pouring the last of the pieces from the dust pan into the large metal trashcan.

"Wanna do something? Clothed?" she asked, blushing.

"Yes, and away from here. I'd rather not think about SG finances or bureaucratic idiots for the rest of the night," Daniel replied, tossing the larger magnifier pieces in the garbage. He grabbed his bag from his desk chair and slipped it over his shoulder, walking over to Adrienne and slipping his arm around her waist, stealing a kiss and unlocking the door.

"Come on Indy, I've got an idea," she said.

"Where to?" he asked as she walked out of the door pulling him along.

"I was thinking a late night movie at the IMAX, the one downtown that's open all night. It's probably something stupid, but we can sit in the back and make fun of it," she replied, letting go of his hand the minute they entered the hall as it was time for the work face.

Slightly disappointed to not be heading to have a more intimate evening in his quarters, Daniel followed along, hoping she wasn't dragging him to another zombie movie.

It was worse than a zombie movie; it was awful, some stupid teenage vampire love story with crappy cliché music written by wanna be punk rockers. They were, however, mostly alone in the theatre so they sat in the back, speaking French, making fun of the entire first half of the film when Adrienne finally leaned over onto his shoulder, Daniel instantly slipping his arm around her.

"Are you tired?" he whispered, taking a peek at his watch to see how much longer they had to force themselves to stay awake, knowing that Adrienne could fall asleep at any moment.

"Not really, just thinking about what Jack said earlier," she whispered back.

"About my being an idiot?" he teased, kissing her temple lightly.

"About us being together. If that's really what he said it certainly doesn't sound like he's that concerned if we are," she replied.

"Excuse me for saying this, but Jack just wants me to 'get laid'; I think that he would have an entirely different position if he knew how serious we were," Daniel answered.

"So we're serious?" Adrienne asked, taken aback by the statement.

Granted she knew that they weren't just having a good time and she loved him more than she had ever loved someone else before, but she hadn't really thought to the future, past their day to day secret keeping. She had used the word serious before and she thought that didn't scare her with Daniel, but to hear him actually say it, just out of the blue, made her heart race.

_He's serious..._

_How serious is serious..._

_Could he be thinking..._

She began to pull away slowly, Daniel looking over at her strangely.

"Of course. I mean, we have our nights, but we're pretty much living together now; I would say that's serious," he explained, sounding a little hurt.

Was there something she wasn't telling him?

Adrienne was quiet for a while, still in shock because with his words he made it all real.

This wasn't a quick I love you, a declaration of forever in a moment of passion, Daniel wanted a future with her, a 'this is it for me' kind of future.

Giving Adrienne a moment, as he could see she needed it, Daniel sat back to try to figure out why that stupid girl on the screen thought that having her vampire boyfriend break into her house while she was at school to get her car keys was not creepy.

"Daniel, sha?" she whispered again.

"What's wrong ja-wer?" he replied, hoping she didn't want to discuss how serious they were any further. It made him nervous, made him think that he had jumped to conclusions, made him think that he was the only one in this relationship that was thinking forever.

He had thought she was, wasn't she?

"I think we need to tell Sam," she said quietly.

"Why?" he asked looking over at her, those not the words he expected to hear from her mouth.

"Because if this is serious, like you said it is, I think we have to disclose that to our boss," Adrienne declared.

"Ok, if you want me to I will. This is serious. I do love you and you're right," he answered, deciding that she had a point.

They were going to need to face the consequences of their actions if he wanted this to lead anywhere like it had in his mind, to a future that he hadn't even discussed with Adrienne.

Smiling in the dark, she cuddled closer to him using his touch to calm her fears.

They were back at the base at 4 a.m., and only other members of SG-1 that seemed to be up.

Over pretending, Adrienne just headed to Daniel's room with him, openly holding his hand and Vala, who was apparently up as well, made some crude joke about them spending their next four hours enjoying one another. Adrienne tried not to laugh, because a part of her wanted to do exactly that. Daniel yelled at Vala and made her go away, but they did go straight to his room, just like Vala teased.

They actually worked on some things for a few hours and then, since they were both on the first day of the switch, finding they couldn't focus, played multilingual Scrabble for a while which ended in a draw, a long, loud draw filled with screaming and hysterical laughter.

Finally, it was late enough, or early, depending on the definition, so they went to bed, wrapping up together in a tangle of arms, legs, blankets and slow kisses.

"Archaeology," Daniel answered the phone.

"Why are you answering your phone?"

It was Jack on the other line so Daniel answered a smartass question with a smartass remark.

"Because I was standing beside it," he replied, rolling his eyes and wondering why Jack wasn't at home with his wife at ten at night when neither of them were confined to reverse schedule.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Jack continued.

"Adrienne stepped out," Daniel answered, forgetting himself for a moment, "and she's not my girlfriend," he added quickly, half tempted to admit it right there.

_No, you're not lying Daniel, she's not your girlfriend. She's your soulmate. See, no lie. _

"Sure, listen, leave her a little love note to tell her you're gone for the night; I need you on something," Jack requested, Daniel making a noise into the receiver.

"Is it more blowout from that meeting? Jack, I've got things that I'm trying to get accomplished down here, which is hard enough as it is on this backwards mess that Woolsey calls a schedule," Daniel protested, hoping that he could at least get a new magnifier ordered and start to sort out and assign the next section of database.

"No, it's geeky mess from area 51 I need you to look at. Get your ass up here," Jack ordered, hanging up the line. Knowing he would just be fighting a losing battle, Daniel walked over to Adrienne's desk to leave her a note so she could at least get started on their work for the week.

Adrienne got back to the lab, wanting to just lock the door and throw herself into Daniel's arms, but he wasn't there. Instead there was a note on her computer.

_Up with bigshots. Go through tag 56932 database and make calendar. _

_Fang. On. 6, just in case._

He didn't need to sign the note, the code was enough, but Adrienne was disappointed that she would have to wait so long to see him. Looking at the clock, 11 p.m. on this stupid shift, six in the morning was an eternity.

She sighed, cueing up the database to his requested tag and began to plan out their attack plan for this section, hoping the time would fly.

Sam was sitting in her office just about to go home and end her semi-normal day shift when the red phone rang and her heart started to race, like it always did when that phone rang; she could only imagine what was wrong.

Reaching for the phone, she brought it to her ear cautiously, hoping that an attack from Anubis or worse was not the news to be relayed by the other side.

"O'Neill," she answered professionally.

"I never get tired of hearing that," Jack said on the other line and Sam softened her tone a bit thankful that if bad news was to come, it was to come from him.

"Jack, why are you calling the emergency phone?" she asked, not really wanting to know. Jack had way too much fun with his power despite his years of military behavior and more than anything liked to play with said power. She secretly thought it was hysterical, but would never admit it to him and now more than ever hoped that he was calling for one of those more idiotic reasons.

"Because I'm going to try to get Daniel to admit that he's doing the horizontal mambo with his little girl, and I need a good way to make him admit it," Jack explained, as if using government resources to satisfy his curiosity was perfectly normal.

Sam made a noise into the phone.

"I said to leave them alone," she stated, knowing full well that not only hadn't he listened to her last night, but that he had no intention of listening to her now.

"I take it you're not gonna help then?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"No honey, I'm not," she replied, "I'm going home. My shift today is done. Good night."

"Dammit, you're no fun," he said and hung up, just as Daniel was knocking at his door.

Jack stood, adjusting his jacket, trying to look official and not like he was snooping before walking over to open the door.

"Took you long enough," Jack said in greeting.

"You do realize I'm on the bottom floor and, I had to leave Adrienne a list of things to do in my absence," Daniel rolled his eyes at his friend and Jack smiled.

He could comment now, of course he had to leave a note for Adrienne, probably a note that said where they were meeting for their next whoopie session, but it was best he wait.

"Alright, so Rodney has sent this crap over and says it's time sensitive so I need you to read it and tell me what it says," Jack ordered as he walked Daniel over to a table.

Making a face the moment he noticed that this had nothing to do with Anubis or anything else Daniel had been working on these past few weeks, Daniel rolled his eyes at the complete waste of time in front of him before glaring back at Jack.

"You could have sent this down to the lab where Adrienne and I could have finished it in about half the time it took for me to come up here, sit here alone, do it and then head back down," Daniel said, pulling out the chair and removing a legal pad from his messenger bag.

Not responding, Daniel did as he had asked, Jack smiling as his friend sat, taking the bait.

"There you are, talking about your little sweetheart again," Jack began his taunt carefully, "You know you got along just fine for years without her."

"Yea, I did," Daniel said, "but I get along better now with her," he replied coolly, starting to read and write things down on the pad.

Biding his time, Jack decided to back off for a while and let him work, planning to try a different angle later. He'd gotten Daniel up here, alone and cornered, which was phase one of his plan but at this point Jack was still waiting to start on phase two.

About an hour into the task, as he himself went through stack after stack of mission reports, Jack had an idea. Trying to act casual, he stood from his desk, glancing over at his friend, who hadn't made so much as a sound or sent one text message to the chickadee downstairs.

"Hey, I'm going to go get some coffee or something, do you want anything?" Jack asked, walking over to the desk now noting that Daniel was working furiously, obviously in a hurry to get out of there.

I bet I know why, Jack thought, he's trying to get back downstairs to her.

"No, I'm good," Daniel muttered, not looking up, flipping to the next page in the stack.

Perfect, Jack thought to himself and headed down the hall to the elevators that would take him to his wife's part of the Pentagon.

"Good evening Dr. Perky!" Jack shouted as he got into the lab. Adrienne had her headphones on looking at a calendar layout when he shouted and just about fell into the floor with shock, ripping off her headphones, peering back at him.

"General you scared me to death!" she shouted, putting her hand over her chest.

"What happened to that karate stuff of yours? Aren't you supposed to kick my ass or something?" he asked, making a face at her reaction.

"I try not to as much, it's usually Daniel that jumps out and tries to scare me," she said.

"And we wouldn't want to punch our loverboy, would we?" Jack said quietly.

"Sir?" Adrienne asked, trying to act innocent.

This week was just getting better and better; who else was going to find out?! But wait, maybe Daniel had talked to Sam, should she answer accordingly, but she froze not knowing at all what she should do.

"Nevermind. I need your Ancient/Goa'uld/ translating doohicky," he said.

"It's not a doohicky, I mean, it's not a separate tool or anything, it's an iPad app I created, right over here, would you like me to show you how to use it?" Adrienne asked as she rushed over to her desk to get the iPad. Grabbing the tablet, she hurried back over to Jack, opening the case and tapping around the screen.

"Here's the icon," she said hoping to be helpful to one of the many people around here who after all of this time still didn't seem impressed with her, "just tap here. What are you trying to translate?" she asked curious as to why he was not only down here but asking for her help.

"English to Space Worm," he replied. Trying not to make a face at his word choice, Adrienne selected the right option, turning the screen to show him where to enter the text.

"Just type here, and hit enter like a normal keyboard. Sir, can I ask why you need to do this; since Daniel is indisposed I would be more than happy to help you with whatever," she offered, determined to get to the bottom of his strange behavior.

"Nope, gotta do this myself. I'm gonna use Daniel's computer over here, so you just carry on with whatever you were doing," he replied, shooing her away with his hand and walking over to Daniel's desk.

Still confused, and not wanting to annoy the big boss, especially if Daniel was going to go public with their status, Adrienne just shrugged and put her headphones back on, determined to be finished before six and not to worry about Jack O'Neill's unexpected visit.

About thirty minutes later Jack returned to his office but Daniel didn't even notice, still enthralled in his task, not even giving his old friend as much as a wave.

Jack's phone was ringing, so he took the call, having to put off his scheming for a while longer and it was important, of course, meaning he would have to put his little plan on hold until he took care of real work. He was annoyed; if Sam had agreed to help she could be down here filling in for him, but no, she had to be a stick in the mud and make him be the one to figure out whether or not Daniel was finally recognizing that females actually existed.

Frowning at the occupied archaeologist, Jack stepped out for the stupid meeting, who in the hell met at one in the morning other than Robert Idiot Woolsey, running around the Pentagon for a few hours, returning back by two thirty, hating this stupid schedule more by the minute.

When he finally stepped across the threshold to his office, Daniel was still there, foregoing food even though he knew his friend surely hadn't eaten.

Perfect, Jack thought, not only is he still here but he's already proving my point by skipping lunch, he's rushing to get back to Dr. Perky because heaven forbid the woman eat a meal alone.

Running his plan through his head, Jack opened his email slowly, cutting his eyes over at Daniel.

"Asshole!" he shouted aloud and that, as he had hoped, got Daniel's attention.

"What now?" he asked without turning around, knowing full well that it was going to be more work for him and not Jack. Smiling, the general hit print, grabbing the document from the printer and stood, walking it over to Daniel.

"More bullshit from Rodney; it says you need to do this first," Jack explained as he hastily handed Daniel the sheet of paper. Frowning, he took it and scanned the document, quickly glaring back at Jack.

"Goa'uld text usually don't begin with the words TOP SECRET," Daniel stated sternly.

"Probably some of Rodney's smartassness, just do that first, alright," Jack said and went back to his desk as Daniel turned to the document, beginning to start the translation.

"Really Jack? Really?" he said moments later.

"What, does it say something important?" Jack asked, trying to hide his excitement.

"Besides the fact the wording is horrendous and sounds like an uneducated buffoon it reads 'I know you are knocking boots with Dr. Excited' which I am sure you meant to read Dr. Perky," Daniel said, rolling his eyes.

"Well?" Jack asked.

"Well what?" Daniel replied.

"Are you?" Jack continued and Daniel stood from the table.

"This just says the same thing over and over, like every other machine Rodney thinks he can't translate. Send it back, I'm going to do some real work," he said standing from the table and heading for the door, Jack grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"Look, I get it ok. I won't say a word. Are you and Dr. Perky a thing?" Jack asked more sincerely, Daniel biting his lip and pulling away.

"Yeah."

"Like having a good time kind of thing or I need to prepare for backlash kind of thing?" Jack push further, watching Daniel's face, somewhat taken aback. They really did, he thought, he really hooked up with his assistant.

"Option two."

"How serious are we talking Daniel?" he now inquired, his mind already racing for solutions. His old friend, his friend for so long finally looked up at him, with a look in his eyes that Jack hadn't seen in years...

"Serious enough where I need you and everyone else to cool it so I don't lose her. Serious enough where it would be great if you could find out any and all loop holes in the dating one's subordinate regulation. Serious enough where," he paused, taking a breath, "where I am filing formal paperwork in the morning with Sam."

Ok, yeah, Jack thought, that's serious and Robert Woolsey just might hit the ceiling. He hadn't been keen on an assistant anyway and this would just add fuel to the fire.

"Is she worth it?" Jack asked the only other thing on his mind, that if this were to completely collapse in on him was it all worth it. He really hadn't taken the time to get to know Adrienne, Sam seemed to like her but was really too busy to know her either, this woman who had apparently stolen the heart of one of his dearest friends.

"More than anything," Daniel answered without hesitation, Jack nodding in reply.

"Ok, I'll see what I can do," the general muttered, patting his old friend on the shoulder before turning to head back to his desk. Daniel didn't say another word, just shoved his hands into his pockets and left the office, leaving Jack with piles and piles of more useless bullshit. Turning to his screen he started to check email when he paused, opening a different folder instead.

_Pentagon Personnel Regulations and Code of Conduct_

Adrienne noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and after her little episode with Jack earlier in the evening was paying better attention but it was Daniel so she slipped her headphones to her neck smiling.

"Well, I'm glad that didn't take all night. I'm just about finished with the calendar. What did the boys upstairs need?" she asked, looking back at what she had been writing.

"Jack needed to act like an ass, that's all," Daniel replied, not wanting to tell Adrienne it looked like their little secret was going to blow up in their faces very soon. She didn't need to worry about that but he needed to come up with something good, and fast, and before someone that signed his paycheck was down here escorting the love of his life from the premises.

"Jack?" she said, "Huh, that's odd. He came down here about an hour after I got your note wanting to use my iPad and your computer. He was translating something," she said, confused.

"Uh huh, he sure was," Daniel walked over to his own computer to see where Jack had left the iPad, English translating still reading 'I know you are knocking boots with Dr. Perky' and erased the message, walking the iPad over to Adrienne.

"Don't let him play with that. Think of it like Vala and your surfboard. Same idea," he instructed, handing it to her and she laughed, not questioning, tucking it back into its case.

"Ad?" Daniel opened his big mouth, again, before he could think, her perfect dark eyes glancing up at him.

"You ok sha?" she asked, reading his face, dammit why could she read him so well.

"Jack knows," he spat out, coming to the conclusion that the rest of the conversation and how exactly Jack got it out of him could and should be omitted.

"And?"

"And he was fine, you were right," Daniel replied.

"Told you. I really think we're worrying about nothing. Fang on still or not?" Adrienne asked like nothing had happened.

She is right, Daniel thought, this is going to be just fine, peeking up at the clock. He'd lost track of time, seeing it was nearly four in the morning and they would still need to stay up until eight to maintain the schedule.

"Yeah, I need to eat but we can go back to my room," he answered, not even bothering with their code, starting to look at her layout, nodding his head in approval.

"Nice work," he told her, reaching to take the calendar over to his desk.

"Do you expect anything less?" Adrienne smiled right back at him. Chucking, he peered around the corner to see if there was anyone in the hall. There wasn't, so he leaned down quickly, taking her into his arms and kissing her passionately right in the middle of lab, in the clear path of the doorway, kissing her long and slow, his fingers in her hair and his body pressed close to hers.

"What was that for?" she asked as he pulled away, breathless, barely able to choke that out.

"A preview," Daniel replied, folding the calendar on her desk before splaying out his hands, inviting her to lead the way to the commissary.

Sam was just making coffee when she heard the door open, pleased to maybe get a five minute conversation with her husband before they would switch places, yet again, working through this awful spell. It was six, not too bad to be honest, and despite the insanity going on at the base, the round the clock meetings and operations, she could now be thankful for two days in a row of getting to spend actual time with her husband.

Standing back from the counter, she tapped the start button on the machine, walking out into the living room to meet him.

"There anymore of that chinese food left?" Jack asked, trudging past her into the kitchen, making a bee line for the fridge.

"No, you finished that off yesterday," she said, following him, trying to figure out what he could eat since this was his dinner and not breakfast, "How was your day?" she continued.

"Normal, busy, stupid, shit that could have been done at four in the afternoon," Jack answered, pulling out the essential ingredients for a sandwich. Sam, noticing he was making himself something to eat, went and sat at the table, her coffee still in the process of brewing.

"Daniel caved," Jack continued and Sam laughed.

"I told you to leave them alone," Sam said, repeating her new mantra.

"Well, I was right, sorta. They're not just screwing though, they're together. Daniel wants me to help him find a way to keep her around. He said he's coming to see you this morning, but he might have meant his morning," Jack said as he spread some mayo onto the bread.

"After everything Adrienne went through to get this job, and the way Woolsey is always looking for a reason to cut her, I understand them keeping tight lipped," Sam said as she stood, the machine clicking to a finish and her body ordering her to caffeinate it as soon as possible.

Pouring herself a cup, she could feel eyes on her and glanced back, noticing Jack looking at her.

"So, wait, you thought they were too!" he said, stopping his sandwich construction and Sam just nodded her head.

"Yes, honey, I was pretty sure," Sam finally admitted, "Or was hoping that they were," His eyes wide, Jack abandoned his food quest and walked over to his wife, pointing the knife in her direction.

"Samantha Carter O'Neill, you foxy little minx, you know something..." Jack said and Sam smiled at her husband coyly.

"I don't know anything. I just know the signs. After all, we played that game for a while ourselves," Sam replied, waiting for Jack's answer and he shook his head.

"Well, when we get this straight and I make sure Woolsey isn't going to ship her off, I plan on rubbing it in his face. A lot," Jack turned and headed back for the counter. Sam just smiled.

She was right and she'd already worked out what she would tell Woolsey.

Without Daniel, he wouldn't even have a job at all. That in and of itself should give him more leeway than others, especially since if they were together it was not effecting their work in any way that she could see.

The alarm buzzed and Adrienne looked over at the clock and sighed. It was 8 p.m. time to wake up, again.

She hated reverse schedules.

Not that she was any better in the morning but she just hated how everything just seemed to be messed up. The alarm went off again and Adrienne crawled over Daniel's bare back to reach it but he beat her to it, his left hand thrown over the small black device.

"You know I've moved it out of your reach to save it from your fastball," Daniel said, shrugging her back over to her side, rolling over to face her.

"This is also why you're late every day. There is this nice little invention called snooze, that allows you to wake up slowly. Normal people don't just launch alarm clocks across the room," he made a face at her so she turned, burying her face in the pillow.

"However, by no longer allowing me to launch my alarm across the room you are having a significant negative economic impact on the alarm clock industry," she turned her head only so much as to allow her lips freedom to giggle. Daniel laughed as well, but not entirely at the joke, more so at the dark red mark on her shoulder, a red mark he remembering making last night, accidentally, as he had gotten a bit carried away among her moans for him to thrust 'harder.'

"Let's not get up," she said, trying to slide into his arms.

"Let's not get caught," he replied, but he didn't want get up either, her love mark making him remember last night, remembering how even though he had started out so slow she had thrown him onto the bed, popping the top two buttons off of his pants and he went with it, letting her lead, letting her order him around for most of the night. He wrapped his arms right back around, kissing her bare neck and held onto her, well aware that he was pressing into her back, a small part of him hoping that she would notice and take advantage like she had last night.

What had she done to him?

He had never had this much sex before in his entire life, however, just as he was thinking that very thought, and feeling bad about it he felt her hands creeping up his thigh, her bottom moving away from him and a firm clasp around the swell. Sighing out, in relief and anticipation, Daniel lay there silently, letting Adrienne lead again, pulling and squeezing him, sending surges of pleasure through his body when suddenly she just stopped and he opened his eyes, trying to figure out what he had done wrong.

"Lay back," she instructed from her knees, evidently having gotten into that position at some point. Throbbing, hoping that she would climb on top of him, he did as she requested, rolling onto his back and pulling the blanket away so she could do just that. He reached his hand for her hips, intending to guide her onto him when he noticed that she had pulled away and was chewing her bottom lip, shaking her head.

"Just lay back," she repeated, bringing her tongue ring to her teeth, revealing her intention instantly, causing his heart to race. It had been a long time since anyone had done that to him, a very long time, but he didn't argue, just did as she asked, relaxing back into the bed. Crawling carefully on top of him, Adrienne leaned over, taking him in her hand again, her pierced tongue headed in his direction, making him feel his pounding heart in his groin and guilt surge through him.

"No, Ad, don't, you don't have to, I don't want you to, I don't expect," he started to stammer, ashamed, worried, pulling away. This wasn't something she should be doing, she didn't need to do this to make him happy; he loved her even before they had laid a hand on one another and she needed to know that...

They had been taking it too far lately.

He sat up slightly, protesting, pushing her away and she sat back on her heels, appearing confused and nervous.

"Sha, I'm sorry, is there something I need to know?" Adrienne asked, worried and curious herself, never having seen this reaction from him before, but Daniel was shaking his head, waving his hands.

"You're not my slave, you're not here for that, we are not together for that, it's just, I meant what I said about serious, I mean I want," he stammered some more but Adrienne just giggled, pushing her hair out of her face and leaning forward again.

"I want to, trust me, you'll like it," she promised, no longer moving slowly, taking him into her mouth quickly, sucking as soon as he was down her throat.

Not expecting that Daniel gasped out, the feeling of warmth between soft lips something he had forgotten, reaching down for her, but she pushed him away, intent on doing this as she wanted. As she pulled back, he felt a quiver in stomach and something hard pressed against him, hard, cold, round when he realized what was creating this strange sensation, her tongue ring, dear god that is what that is for and he groaned out, no longer considering stopping her from her purpose. She sucked down onto him again, this time the warm wet sensation of her mouth coupled with the tight squeezing of her cheeks and she was pulling away again, the jewelry running down the main nerve, dear god this was unreal, and she pulled back completely, a chill of cold air wrapping itself around him before he felt lips again, toying, playing, sucking him lightly at the tip.

He wanted her to take him into her mouth, he didn't want the teasing even though she was still moving her hand carefully up and down his shaft, he wanted to feel that piercing against his skin and he was about to beg, thrusting his hips towards her when she sucked down again, running the ball down this time as well as up.

"Oh god Ad," he murmured, reaching for her head again as she started to move faster, up and down, each time running that tongue ring exactly where he wanted to be touched, it was extra sensation in the warmth, and he wanted to just lay back and enjoy but he couldn't, his body being taken over involuntarily by some monster that was demanding satisfaction, that was reaching down for Adrienne's hair, that was making him make noises here in his on base quarters that he really shouldn't be making when it hit him.

"IN AMUN!" Daniel screamed out, unaware of anything else other than that squeezing going on at his pelvis, the squeezing and that ball, that small cold ball. The wave of pleasure ratcheted his body and in the deep recesses of his mind he wanted to apologize to Adrienne, afraid he was hurting her, but she was still sucking, still moving that amazing, that fucking amazing piercing along him while she sucked down his seed.

Then it was over, his heart about to leap from his chest and he couldn't move, he could barely breathe, so he lay there panting, trying not to. He was vaguely aware of movement and felt her scurry in beside him, weaseling back into his arms.

"I take it you liked that?" he heard whispered into his ear, but he couldn't speak, just nodded the best he could, receiving a giggle from her in return as she buried her head into his chest.

They laid there for a little while longer before getting ready for work, until Adrienne stood from his bed, wiggling out from his grasp, chills running down her back, the room being much colder than their shared warmth. Fighting every urge she had to just stay in bed, wrapped in his arms, she tiptoed to the bathroom to take a shower, feeling he might need a bit to recover.

Adrienne heard him open the door just as she was finishing.

"Ad, did you see my journal of the Atlantis lab work?" he asked, his voice a clear indicator that he had not totally recovered from their morning encounter. Had she not been so close to finishing up she would have invited him to join her, still a little aroused herself, but she was fairly certain that he wouldn't be ready for anything else for a while.

"Not recently, last I saw it you had it at your desk in the lab, did you bring it here?" she replied, pausing at her own response, remembering their conversation from yesterday, the nice memory of pleasuring him this morning leaving her thoughts. Wow, we really are serious, she thought, we sound like a damn married couple.

_Is that where he's going with this?_

_Oh my god..._

"I have no idea; did I mention I hate this schedule," he said, sighing, and she laughed from the shower.

_Ok, if we're this serious then there were some things that needed to be straightened out, especially if he's thinking..._

"When are you going to meet with Sam?" she asked bluntly, laying it out.

"For what?" Daniel responded, his mind still on the lost journal and the surprising wake-up he had just moments before. She didn't have to do that, but she seemed to want to and that was by far the most amazing experience that he had ever had, second only to actually making love to her.

Adrienne stuck her heard out of the curtain as she shut off the water, stretching for her towel which was just out of reach, her hand flailing cutely for the fabric, trying to stay hidden in the warmth of the shower, so he stepped forward and collected it, handing it to her with a smile.

"Thank you sha," she chattered out through gritted teeth, drying off and wrapping it around herself, stepping out into the cold again shaking. He wanted to take her into his arms the moment he saw the goosebumps on her shoulders, but she scooted by him, heading back into the room, digging through the bottom drawer of the dresser where he was letting her keep things here at well, smiling as she pulled out some clothes and began to get dressed.

"You said that since Jack doesn't care that we're going to tell her, now that we know neither of us are going to get fired," she said.

"Oh," Daniel answered, "that meeting."

Adrienne made a face and it wasn't a happy one.

It's not that he hadn't planned on telling her, he just hadn't figured out what to say yet that didn't end in a scenario where his entire world came crashing down all around him.

_Then again, Jack has probably already told her..._

_Dammit..._

"Yes, Daniel, that meeting, aren't we going to start taking the next step," she said and he sighed.

He was so scared to tell Sam, to admit everything publicly, terrified that they would separate he and Adrienne.

Ad, I can't lose you, you are everything to me, he wanted to say but couldn't, his lack of response sending Adrienne into a rage.

"What in da hell Daniel!? Wha 'tah we doing 'ere? 'Ow 'ard is it ta march up ta Sam, one of yo best amis, and tell 'er? Dit on verite! Please tell me dat yo nah voila merde ahd dat dis is fo real. Dat I'm nah makin' a cooyon ah myself!" Adrienne screamed at him, the anger in her voice rising, her speech nearly unintelligible.

_What was happening? _

_Where did this come from?_

"It is Adrienne, it is. love you. I'm just..." but he couldn't finish, the look on her face was terrifying him far worse than anything Sam could say, this was the look of his world tumbling down, this was the look of Adrienne, pulling herself from him, looking for an escape. Instead, he walked to embrace her, trying to show her that he loved her, that he meant what he said, that this was really it for him.

Oh my god, he thought, stopping in his tracks, she is it for me, this is it.

_I want to spend the rest of my life with her..._

She shoved him away, clearly unable to read his thoughts and as angry as ever.

"No, pic kee toi Daniel Jackson; fuck you! I'm nah 'ere fa yah amusement. I'm nah in da sac wit yah fa da fun of it. I'm NOT VALA MAL DORAN!" she kept screaming and Daniel was completely lost.

Didn't he just say to her last night that they were serious, that she was all he wanted.

What was going on?

"Ja-wer, I know, you're not, please, calm down," he tried to approach her again but she was shaking her head and out of nowhere, lashed out, slapping him across the face.

Hurt and surprised, Daniel backed away slowly.

"I 'ave work ta do ya damn cooyon, ya kno ahr jobs!? Ya let me kno what ya decide. If ya want me ahnd ah real relationship, I'll be in da lab. If nah, I'm sho Vala's still game," she stormed out of his room, half dressed, slamming the door behind her.

Daniel didn't chase her; what would he say?

There was no way that she would understand what he was going through.

True, there was a part of him that was terrified of the repercussions of allowing their relationship to unfold and become public, but he realized walking through the halls of the SGC that it was something more.

Admitting that he and Adrienne were in love publicly made it real and real was something he could easily lose.

He had lost real before but if he continued to stand here like an idiot he was going to lose it again. Instead of going to the lab to try to reason with her, he went to the one place he knew he could go.

He went to see Teal'c.

"DanielJackon," Teal'c greeted him as Daniel slowly pushed in the partially open door, "I was just preparing to complete my meditation."

Regardless of night schedule or day, Teal'c was a creature of habit and it was 10 p.m., the time he liked to set aside to meditate when he could and Daniel was thankful that tonight was not an exception.

"I was hoping so, may I join you?" he asked the Jaffa, who was sitting in the floor, shirtless and crossed legged, surrounded by candles.

"Of course," Teal'c indicated the floor beside him and moved some candles to allow Daniel to sit down which he did, crossing his legs as his friend had done and closing his eyes.

"It has been a long time since we have shared a meditation," Teal'c noted, once he saw that Daniel had taken his seat and was comfortable.

"Yes, I'm sorry my friend, I've been distracted," Daniel apologized, realizing that he indeed hadn't spent time with Teal'c or anyone else for that matter, not in a long while.

"With AdrienneRowan," Teal'c said without expression and Daniel's heart started to race.

"Yes, with, well, no, what do you mean with Adrienne?" he panicked, sure that Teal'c didn't mean anything by it, but isn't that why he was here in the first place, to talk to Teal'c to get advice to figure out what he should do?

"You are in love with AdrienneRowan and you spend your free time with her. You have no need to meditate to have your peace because you have your peace with her," Teal'c answered simply.

Sighing, Daniel opened his eyes and glanced over at his friend, who was already looking at him, with a serious but kind expression.

There was no hiding it any further.

"How did you know?" he asked, giving in, the list of knows quickly growing longer than the list of don'ts.

"AdrienneRowan has loved you since you saved her from the nomads. She refused to leave you when Kasuf haunted you. You tore the flesh from your palms to extract her from the cave when the team went to meet the Tok'ra. I have loved DanielJackson; I know how it appears," he said.

Daniel looked ahead and realized, realized that Teal'c was right; it was obvious to everyone. Cameron and Vala didn't have to say a word and Jack had figured it all out god knows how long ago.

Adrienne was right, this was ridiculous, he just needed to go and talk to Sam, tell her everything, tell her that Adrienne was all he ever wanted and he was going to fight like hell to keep her.

Without a word, he stood, exiting the room, the big warrior remaining on the floor, smiling slightly as Daniel left.

He didn't hesitate when he arrived at Sam's door, but knocked since it was closed. On the elevator ride to the bottom floor from the housing wing he almost changed his mind, those fears and worst case scenarios playing out in his head over and over, but he forced the thoughts away, intent on making this right.

"Come in," she shouted, to both his relief and regret, so he turned the knob and headed on in slowly, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Hey, Sam, you got a minute?" he asked, peering into her office where she looked up from her desk at him over a large piles of files and memos quickly glancing at her clock. She appeared to be busy, which made Daniel feel even worse for bothering her with something so foolish especially since she was trying to keep the entire planet safe along with a host of others and he was here to discuss the fact that he was dating his assistant, that he was sleeping with his assistant, that he wanted to marry his assistant.

Oh my god, he thought, his heart racing again, I want to marry Adrienne.

He started to change his mind, his latest revelation rocking him to his core.

_I want to marry Adrienne. _

"I have a pre-mission briefing with SG-17 in about 20 minutes..." she said, trailing her voice as she glanced up at him once more, her expression changing. She knew him too well, they had been friends too long and the look on her face broke him.

It was now or never, he told himself.

"This shouldn't take long," he answered quietly and she closed the folder, indicating that he take the seat in front of her, which he did, finding himself unable to form the words.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concern washing across her face and Daniel took a breath, nodding.

"Yea, I just needed to come here to talk to you about a personal matter," he started.

Ok Daniel, you can do this, she's not going to scream and yell, it's time to do this, he coached himself.

Sam furrowed her brow and leaned forward on the desk.

"Personal? Is everything ok with Adrienne?" she asked. Shocked, Daniel made a face, turning his head slightly.

Her too?

"Why are you asking me about Adrienne?" he questioned, starting to think this entire charade had been completely in vain because apparently, for Sam, a personal matter for him automatically meant Adrienne.

"You just have this look on your face like you two had a major fight or something. You guys didn't split up did you?" Sam asked concerned.

Oh, see, Sam didn't know, he must have misunderstood.

"You mean did she quit again? No she didn't quit-" he started but Sam cut him off.

"No, I mean did you two break up?" Sam clarified. His jaw dropping, this really had all been in vain, Daniel just sat in the chair, a look of shock on his face and unable to hold back anymore, Sam started to laugh.

"I thought so, but I just needed that look to verify. You two are really really bad at hiding it. Worse than Jack and I. I mean, since when do you shut off the lab cameras, and at random times during the day? Did you really think it was some big secret? Did you think I didn't know why you begged your way into Vala's undercover mission?" Sam asked, figuring that maybe if she disclosed a little of what she suspected that Daniel would open up, let her know how much of a blow back to expect.

"Well, you didn't call me down to do any kind of sign anything saying that I'm dating a co-worker, I'm sure there is something like that we have to declare," he said, deciding to avoid the Woolsey/IOA issue for now.

"Daniel, I'm married to the head of Homeworld Command and he's been convinced for about a month now and he doesn't care; you're fine," she smiled, hoping she wasn't lying to him, but the way that they had conducted themselves so far, she had a pretty good case for keeping them together, "you guys are ok, right?" Sam added quickly. fearing that her original concern had not been the reason for his visit.

"I hope so, I have one more stop to make, enjoy your briefing," Daniel replied and scurried up from the seat, dashing out of the room, throwing the door closed behind him.

Sam looked at the door as he left.

"I wish Mr. Request a Cot could see himself now," she chuckled and opened the folder again to continue preparing for her meeting.

Adrienne wasn't in the lab working like she said she would be and she wasn't in his quarters, which he had highly doubted, but checked anyway. She wasn't in her quarters either, so Daniel hiked to the last place he knew she would be, the gym and there she was, running on the treadmill today instead of the track.

She must still be really mad at him; the treadmill always meant serious mileage. He walked over, seeing that she had on her headphones and he waved in front of her face so she would acknowledge his presence.

Adrienne didn't speak, but she pulled the headphones to her neck and kept running.

"Can we talk?" he asked, making sure to keep his tone apologetic. Adrienne didn't reply at first, looking at the treadmill's screen and mouthing to herself before finally glancing back at him.

"In two miles we can," she answered curtly. Daniel took a breath and tried to retain his composure.

"Can two miles wait?" he continued, as politely as possible.

"No, because when I set out to do something and decide I'm going to do it and say that I am going to do it, I do it, because some things are too serious to play around with," she stated, her voice shaking, not from the exertion of the exercise but from the sadness in her voice.

She needed this, she needed him to be her strength because for as strong as she was in everything else after everything that had happened to her, after living the life her family criticized her for living, she needed him as much as he needed her.

"Adrienne, ok, you keep running, just hear me out," he requested hoping that she was reading his face, that he was sincere.

"Fine," she answered, choking back emotion.

"I talked to Sam," he started and her eyes widened a bit, but she kept running, her focus still somewhat on the treadmill's monitor.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yea and apparently she already knows. Everybody knows," he said, relieved to hear the admission come out of his mouth. However, to his surprise, Adrienne didn't seem pleased, that odd mixed expression of anger and worry still on her face.

"So, you didn't tell her?" she asked, still pounding away at the treadmill. He had hoped that she would stop once she heard that, but she hadn't, so Daniel reminded himself that running was her release.

"I didn't need to, didn't you hear me, she knows..." Daniel answered.

"That's not telling her," Adrienne looked down at the treadmill to check her mileage and kept running.

"Ok, so I still have to tell her what exactly? I'm trying to make you happy here," he was starting to get annoyed and stopped caring about whether or not she could hear a tone in his voice. Adrienne's head shot up and she hopped the straddle the treadmill, finally pausing her run, as the machine continued to pedal on.

"This isn't about making me happy Daniel, this is about whether or not you're adult enough to have an adult relationship, one in which you can say without shying away like a pimply faced teen that you love me and that we're together. For some reason, you can't do that," Adrienne continued, whispering so no one would hear. This argument was going to spawn enough base gossip as it was and she wasn't trying to embarrass him, he just needed to know that if they were going to do this, if she was going to risk it all, she needed to know that he was prepared to make the same sacrifices.

"What is wrong with you?!" he shouted, loud enough to elicit some stares from a few nearby people.

Hurt, Adrienne just cut her eyes, glancing back at the machine.

"You might want to keep your voice down Dr. Jackson. People might notice you caring about me, which apparently is something you're not ready for," she hopped back onto the belt and kept running.

Frustrated with her more than he had ever been, or at least since they had gotten together, Daniel stormed out of the gym.

"Walter," he asked about five minutes later as he marched into the observation deck, still obviously angry, "do we have any teams coming in?" Walter shook his head, trying to judge what was going on.

"Not for a few hours, why sir?" he answered.

Adrienne saw the warning lights flash and pulled her headphones back to her neck, but didn't stop the treadmill. It could just be something routine, but she didn't feel like checking the calendar on her iPod to see what it was, so she listened while she continued to run since she only had one mile left.

"Attention all personnel," she heard Walter's voice over the intercom and waited for the news, butterflies in her stomach as always when such announcements were made, but he didn't announce anything further. That was odd, she thought, and kept running.

"Hi everyone, it's Dr. Daniel Jackson and I just needed to take a moment to clear something up. I apologize for taking this time from your day. Many of you are aware of the addition of my assistant Dr. Adrienne Rowan to our staff almost two years ago and the great things she has done not only as a member of the archaeological staff but as the most recent addition to SG-1," that familiar voice spoke over the loudspeaker.

The other crew members in the gym started to clap and Adrienne felt her stomach drop.

What in the hell was he doing?

"However, what only some of you may know is that Dr. Rowan and I are romantically involved and have been for some months now. Apparently, I need to make this public knowledge as soon as possible if I wish for this relationship to continue. So, if Adrienne hasn't taken off those damn headphones yet, can someone go and yank them off of her head. I'll wait a second, just to be sure," he continued and as promised, there was a pause and the entire gym was looking at her, the whole night shift crew which she had never realized was so large staring right at her.

She wanted to die, right then and there, but just couldn't leave with the entire room staring at her.

What was he going to do?

"Thank you. Adrienne, I LOVE YOU! Everyone, I am in love with Dr. Rowan and we are together. I love her more than anyone else in my entire life and I want to be with her. Does that work for you Ad? Do you understand now that I'm serious?" Daniel's voice blared across the gym, echoing off of the walls. Her heart racing, her chest tight, Adrienne slipped, having to jump to avoid falling off the treadmill, landing on her leg funny and falling to her butt anyway.

When she looked up she saw Vala reaching down to help her up, her face in a complete state of shock.

"That my dear," she said, "was impressive." Adrienne took her hand and stood, adjusting her running shorts and wiping a stray hair from her face.

"What, almost breaking my neck?" she asked, her face flushing in embarrassment.

"No," Vala pointed at the loudspeaker, her face actually sincere, "that." As if on cue, the entire gym started making childish kissing noises all except Vala who looked genuinely worried as Adrienne's face turned a hundred shades of red.

"I hate that man," she spat as she stormed to find him, racing out the gym heading in the direction of the observation room muttering to herself the entire way.

"Such gawh damn tchew. I bet 'ee dinks 'ee's so cute, like I'm gonna go rushin' up into 'is ahms, 'Oh Daniel, I love ya so much, ya 'ave declared ya love fah me', well if 'ee dinks dis be adult behavior den I've got news fah 'im, he can embrasse moi techew," she turned the corner and ran smack into him.

"You're a PIG," she screamed, even as he was catching her and helping her not fall to the floor. Reaching for her face he gently grabbed her chin and brought her gaze to meet his.

"No, I wanted to prove a point to you. How STUPID was that? Was THAT what you wanted? Do you want me to scream it again?" he had started slowly and calmly but by the end was almost yelling already.

At first, Adrienne wanted to scream out and smack him across the face again but he backed up, reading her mind and looked at her, his arms crossed.

Instead of screaming, or crying for that matter, she just started to laugh.

"Finally!" he said, "A reaction I know how to handle," He uncrossed his arms giving her a silent invitation and she slipped into them, hugging him tightly, right in the middle of the hall, passersby stopping to glance and whisper. She looked up at him, gazing into his eyes, feeling awful about everything. He should have gone to Sam as promised, but she had also overreacted.

He tended to bring that out in her.

"I'm just not used to having, well, this," she apologized in her way and Daniel held her tighter, kissing her head lightly.

"And you think I am? You know my history," he replied as he backed away, but Adrienne didn't let go.

"I love you too," she said quietly. Grinning from ear to ear, Daniel pushed her back from him.

"What was that Ad, I don't think I heard you..." he teased and Adrienne rolled her eye and stepped back, clearing her throat.

"I SAID DR. JACKSON I LOVE YOU TOO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as he began to laugh hysterically.

"I can be equally as embarrassing," she told him, winking.

"Of that I have no doubt," he replied, leaning down to kiss her softly. They kissed gently and slowly in the hallway, no longer caring who saw and who knew.

"I can't show my face in the gym again thanks to you Indy," she said to him as they broke away.

"Trust me, we'll be old news tomorrow," he put his arm around her and started to lead her to his room and Adrienne pulled away, stopping and staring at him strangely.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To shower," he answered. Adrienne cocked her head and rolled her eyes.

Really?

A shower?

That was where his mind was after all of this?

Evidently reading her mind, Daniel started to laugh again.

"Now you need to stop thinking like Vala. You stink, and I can't take you out dancing if you stink," he replied.

"I hate you Daniel," she said, her face softening, shaking her head at him. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, pulling her along, hoping that he remembered the name of the club she was always talking about.

"I hate you too," he replied, deciding that Adrienne was far more important than anything else he had planned, ever.

"General O'Neill," Robert Woolsey peered around the door to Jack's office glad that he was here. With the reverse schedules, it was hard to know whether or not Jack was going to be working the same time as he or as his wife, but it seemed that tonight he had lucked out, thankfully, because he really didn't want to be discussing this with anyone else.

"What do you want Woolsey? I actually have work to do other than attend poorly planned midnight meetings," Jack hissed from his desk, his head aching already at the mere suggestion of another meeting.

"General, we need to have a conversation about Drs. Rowan and Jackson, and their, um, relationship," Woolsey began, treading lightly since he knew that he was talking about one of Jack's closest friends, someone he thought of as family more than a work colleague.

"Yep, heard the announcement, he's all in love, that's next on the list I can assure you. Let me handle that, they've done nothing wrong, it seems they have been together for a while now and no one has been the wiser," Jack replied, not looking up from the mess strewn across his desk.

Taking a breath, Woolsey cleared his throat and stepped closer, holding up a small plastic case in his hand.

"Not exactly General, there's something you need to see," he started, Jack's eyes finally making contact with his own, curious as Robert handed him a DVD.


	8. Chapter 8 - Bad Call Full Version

_This is the full version._

"I'm not responsible for the state that she's in right now," Vala defended as she stood at the open door of Daniel's apartment seconds before the cajun woman staggered in behind her. Daniel was going to ask exactly what she was talking about when Adrienne stumbled right up to him pressing her lips to his own.

"I want ya, righ naw, take off ya pants," Adrienne begged, frantically reaching for the top of his jeans. It was so sudden, so unlike her, that he hesitated to shoo her away, only remembering her state and their visitor when he felt himself begin to throb.

Reaching gently for her hands, Daniel moved from her urgent grasp, taking her carefully into his arms and away from her mission.

"What did you do to her?" he asked, dumbfounded, having seen Adrienne a bit intoxicated before but never like this. Vala started to answer when he felt tugging at his fly a second time. The button was undone before he could stop her, the zipper shortly after, reaching down quickly to cover himself before Vala could see, but she was already laughing shaking her head at his current predicament.

"Addy tried to out drink me; that was her stupidity," she stated leaning in the door jam watching one of her friends frantically try to undress the other. It was hysterical and she was half-tempted to take out her phone and start filming but, Daniel, on the other hand, didn't seem as amused.

"Ad, ja-wer, calm down, what's wrong, stop, can we go get in the bed please, let Vala leave," he tried to reason with her, having no intention whatsoever of being intimate with her in this state but trying to use her own plans to get her into the apartment and passed out as soon as possible.

"No, I donna cah if she sees, it's beautiful, yah blessed by da gods sha," Adrienne insisted, pulling his jeans open again, so forcefully he had to literally smack her away as she grabbed, glancing up at Vala in a panic.

"This isn't alcohol Vala, this is insanity, can you help me?" Daniel tried a different approach, his lovely girlfriend strong, very strong and whatever she had been drinking was only making her stronger as he felt the fabric at his fly being ripped apart. Rolling her eyes, Vala walked over, grabbing Adrienne under her arms, pulling her back into her chest.

"Get her feet," she ordered, motioning for Daniel to lift Adrienne from the ground but he paused, one hand holding his pants up, the other reaching out to block a kick from Adrienne that hadn't yet come his way.

"Daniel, pick up your girlfriend's feet. You don't have anything I haven't seen before and she's too drunk to kick you, I made sure of that," Vala repeated, using her head to point down at Adrienne's feet, now devoid of the flats she had been wearing when she left his apartment earlier, the purple shoes in a path as though they had fallen off on her pursuit to his crotch. Frowning, he did as Vala asked, hoping his jeans stayed at his hips as he reached to grab her calves, lifting her lower half into the air when he realized what Vala said.

"Wait, what do you mean you made sure of that? I thought you said that she tried to outdrink you?" Daniel asked confused as he started to step backwards, leading them to his bedroom.

"She did. Sorta. I just stopped. Same difference," Vala replied, adjusting to pull Adrienne higher as she began to slip from her grasp.

"Why? What in the hell happened?" Daniel continued, reaching the bedroom door and donkey kicking it open to continue their trek to the bed.

"Oh yay, your bedroom, and here I am putting another woman into your bed. There is something very very wrong with this," Vala joked, turning as she crossed the threshold to carry Adrienne to the correct side, how she knew Daniel didn't know, but just assumed it was because Vala knew about the door fear as well.

"That's not answering my question," he replied, helping Vala lay his assistant on the bed, who apparently was not as passed out as he had hoped.

"Vala wud nah let me punch dat pue tan en da damn mouf," Adrienne babbled, reaching again for Daniel's groin as he tried to fight her off, his eyes pleading with Vala for help, who was ignoring his dilemma completely.

"Addy they'd have banned us from the bar for life and I happen to like that place," Vala retorted, her face slightly angry, still to Daniel's complete bewilderment.

What was going on?

"Ad, why did you want to punch someone in the mouth?" he asked, holding her hands in his lap gently, bad idea Daniel, he thought, moving her hands to her side, holding them in place.

"Because the asshole said that she's sleeping her way into every perk your penis can offer, which I find interesting that it has perks at all," Vala explained, smiling at her taunt at the end. Tempted to lash out at her for the comment, Daniel ignored her, looking back to his girlfriend who had broken free from his grasp, her hands at his fly once again, tearing her way to said organ.

"If dat wha evreebahdee dinks den I might as well get da most out ah it I can," she argued, as Daniel shoved her away, looking up at Vala again.

"Can you lock the door on your way out?" he asked.

"Can you promise me that you are not actually going to bed her in that state?" Vala spat back.

He should have been angry at the assumption, but instead was touched that Vala cared so much about Adrienne.

It was like Adrienne had her own private guard dog, how sweet...

"Of course I'm not," Daniel started as Adrienne began to heave in his lap.

"I got da mal au couer," she choked out, Daniel understanding just enough to know he needed to move, making it to the bathroom and dashing back with the trashcan, shoving it swiftly under the spew that emitted from her body.

Holding Adrienne's hair as she puked, Daniel glared back up at Vala.

"Thank you for bringing her to me; now good night Vala," he said through gritted teeth.

Grunting, Vala spun of her heels, storming out of the bedroom, a loud slam heard seconds later. Daniel let out a sigh, appreciating the gesture just not the method, redirecting his attention to Adrienne once more, who was sitting up, wiping her face.

"Canna get ah towel?" she asked and Daniel nodded, leaping from the bed to race back to the bathroom, grabbing the one over the sink and rushing it back to her. Trying to smile, Adrienne wiped her face, tossing the towel onto the floor and curling over to her side.

"Ad, let's get you undressed," Daniel said, turning her slightly, reaching for her jeans this time, undoing the button and zipper as she started to giggle.

"Dat's wha I be talkin' about sha!" Adrienne declared as she sat up reaching for his clothes, repeating her frantic performance at the door. Scowling, he pushed her back, holding her down with one hand, annoyance creeping across his face.

"Ad, Vala's gone, stop with this act, just stop. You haven't slept your way into anything, you know it, I know it, Sam knows it, everyone who matters knows it. Who cares what some peon says in a bar?" Daniel asked, warning with his head to stop, Adrienne evidently sober enough to understand, allowing him to pull the jeans from her hips and toss them over into his hamper. He stood, going to get her one of his t-shirts to sleep in, peering over his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it? Do you want to tell me who said that to you?" he asked as Adrienne pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor, again not like her at all, and reached behind her back to unfasten the next article of clothing. He turned, not that he was embarrassed, he saw her like that now practically every day, but she just seemed so out of sorts that he felt he owed her as much privacy as he could afford to give in her current condition.

"Sum gah damn cadet ahn den wun ah his podnas say 'Well she must nah be dat gud if he's sent 'er 'oer ta McKay," Adrienne continued from behind him, her voice cracking at the end.

Sighing, this was going to be a long night, a long night where he would have to translate from cajun to English in between vomiting spells no less, Daniel opened the top drawer, securing a black t-shirt just as a bra landed on his head.

"Gar I cahn trow tings a lah bedda wit a few en me!" she exclaimed from behind him, Daniel choosing not to turn around and have to fight her off again, which he knew would cause a massive argument, instead tossing the garment over his shoulder hoping it would land where it needed to land. There was a soft thunk of fabric hitting fabric and he gave her just a moment to pull the shirt over her head before turning around to face her.

She was wiping her face, crawling under the covers, muttering to herself in that bayou slang she always swore she never slipped in to, so Daniel collected the trashcan and cleaned it out, bringing it out into the bedroom in case it was needed again. Curled up into a ball on her side, Adrienne lay in his bed, tears streaked across her face.

"Evree wun dinks Imma slut," she wept from her side, one extreme emotion now replaced by another. Shaking his head and shucking his own jeans to the floor, Daniel crawled in behind her, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, ja-wer, you know you're not. It's not like that, we're not like that and if we could never make love again I wouldn't care as long as I had you," he whispered softly, meaning every word. It was how she made him feel inside that was what mattered, she was more than his lover, she was still his closet friend, his greatest ally and he could never imagine a life without her.

"Ah luv ya Dahn-yell," Adrienne whispered, letting herself fall back into his grasp, the effects of the evening finally at their last.

"I love you too Adrienne," he replied, deciding to just lay there and hold her even though he wasn't tired.

It was the smell of coffee that awoke Adrienne, not because she had any particular craving, but because the smell was sickening, making her race to an upright position and scan the room frantically for the trashcan. Choking down the small amount of food she had eaten last night, coupled with the massive amount of tequila, Adrienne almost lost it right there in bed when she saw the small blue plastic container sitting at the corner of the footboard. She crawled quickly to the corner, reaching it just in time, erupting in an explosion of illness and tears. She cried more than she threw up, it hurt so bad, memories of the night before coming back: the other personnel asking her and Vala to join them for dinner, the crude jokes, the innuendo and then the remark.

Fortunately Vala had her back, quickly subduing Adrienne's violent response and promptly telling the entire group off, using more foul words in that two minute lecture than had been used their entire meal, so foul that the manager had come and asked them to leave. Rather than take Adrienne home, as she was begging her friend to do, Vala took her to a seedy cantina, filling her with chips, salsa and cheap tequila, most of which she was staring at right now, and then brought her here for her to make a damn fool of herself in front of Daniel.

Damn Vala.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her sweetly from the doorway, keeping his distance knowing that this morning she would be both sick and embarrassed. He wanted to give her space to recover.

Nodding, she reached for the towel he had carefully laid on the bed, wiping her face before laying on her stomach.

"Like a bonne a rienne," she responded from the comforter, still not making eye contact.

Laughing at the double meaning of the phrase, both that she was disgusting and a slut, Daniel walked over to the edge of the bed, sitting down, setting a mug on the night stand, before resting his hand cautiously onto her back.

"Well you look like courtbullion," he replied, smiling, hoping she would catch on.

"That's fish stew sha," she muttered from her position.

"I get credit for trying to learn your language don't I?" he teased, rubbing lightly where his hand was resting. Giggling, Adrienne rolled over, grabbing his hand and holding it to her heart before bringing it to her lips kissing his fingers.

"Sorry about my performance last night," she apologized quietly, her face flushing again as Daniel wondered how much she remembered about said performance.

"No apology necessary, that's what I'm here for, to cry to and to forcibly undress," he joked, getting another laugh in return and another kiss on his fingers.

"Sorry about that too," she answered as he shook his head.

"Actually, that might be fun to play out just sans tequila," he teased, looking over his shoulder at the clock as her cheeks flushed at his suggestion, "it's almost ten, I told Sam you were dealing with some allergies and I didn't want you driving in with medicine head, but we'd still better get going if you're up to it. I've made you some blackberry tea," he explained, pointing to the mug and standing from the bed.

"Thanks, and I am, but can I get a shower?" she asked, standing behind him, feeling as though the leftover drink was seeping from her pores.

"Yeah, but you're lucky you decided to do this the night before my service," he chided, knowing that were Adrienne reporting to Rodney today that it would be a different story, that Daniel would have to be making a far better excuse.

After the scene he apparently missed last night, one in which Adrienne had almost gotten into a bar brawl, he didn't want to land back in Woolsey's office, or worse Jack's...

When Jack returned from Atlantis, the call came, as Daniel had expected, first thing in the morning. The general asked to speak to him and him alone, so Daniel left Adrienne a list of tasks not knowing where the meeting would take them or how long.

Nervous as if this was a first date, Daniel had knocked carefully at Jack's door, standing outside, waiting to be called in like a low level grunt, not at all like someone who with whom he had worked for years.

"I know it's you Daniel, just open the damn door!" Jack shouted from the other side but after all of these years of working together the archaeologist could never be sure as to what his tones really meant at times. Right now it sounded annoyed, but with Jack it could also be normal so taking a breath, Daniel turned the knob, stepping into the office thanking every god he had knowledge of that Jack and Jack alone was sitting there.

"Take a seat," the general ordered, deadly serious, a look on his face that Daniel wasn't sure that he had ever seen before. Chewing his bottom lip nervously, Daniel pushed his glasses up his face, shoving his hands in his pockets before taking a seat, as requested, in the chair across from his friend, not saying a word, just waiting for the hell that was about to be unleashed.

"So, you're screwing your assistant at work now," Jack started in, glaring straight at him.

"You know our relationship isn't like that," Daniel corrected his voice even. Expecting that very correction, Jack leaned back into his chair, opening the top drawer to remove a plastic case from the desk, throwing it at Daniel.

"This, my friend, is screwing. At work. On camera," Jack explained as Daniel caught the case clumsily in his hands. Not bothering to open the box, Daniel knew what was inside; he held it up, shaking it at Jack.

"This, Jack, was a mistake, it happened once, it won't happen again," Daniel insisted, setting the DVD back onto the desk. There was no point in asking for it in order to destroy it, if Robert Woolsey had found it, which based on the circumstances Daniel was certain that he did, there were at least five copies of he and Adrienne's indiscretion so removing one from the equation really wasn't going to make much difference.

Nodding slowly, Jack leaned forward on the desk, his expression changing.

"It's gonna take me some time to get things back to normal. Dating, I had covered, this, well, not so much," Jack continued, Daniel understanding without further explanation.

"We know and we're willing to do what we need to do until things can return to normal," he answered, hoping Jack could see the sincerity in his eyes as his own deep brown looked different now, hurt even. What could Jack be upset about now?

"How long?" Jack asked, the question surprising Daniel who had expected to get yelled at, get screamed at but that was not what was happening right now.

"I told you already that we were together," Daniel replied, confused, not sure what exactly Jack wanted to know.

"I'm assuming our conversation last week wasn't the beginning of things, especially considering what's on this, so, how long?" Jack repeated, Daniel noting the words, no more "screwing" or anything related; he actually seems to want to know, in a caring way.

"About four months, give or take," Daniel answered after a pause, having to count.

Wow, he thought, four months doesn't seem that long at all, especially given that he was already planning on forever and reading his face, or at least that was what it felt like, Jack smiled. The man did know him too well.

"I'd figured longer; you've had the look for longer," the general answered, getting a shrug in reply so he continued, "Off the record, I think she's perfect for you. You deserve this; you deserve to be happy with someone that seems to make you as happy as Adrienne does."

The shrug became a smile, Daniel bringing his gaze back up to Jack.

"More than you can know; it's like a dream, and I'm just afraid I'm going to wake up and it's all going to be gone," the younger man answered honestly, fear apparent in his blue eyes.

"It always feels like that, doesn't get any better. I mean, have you looked at Sam? I've watched myself become a grouchy old man and she's just perfect. Who's to say one day she's gonna decide she could do better, because she could, easily. But you can't dwell on that, you've just gotta... listen to me. Sitting here, lecturing you like you're some teenaged kid with no clue," Jack stopped his speech, noting he was rambling, not unlike Daniel, who was sitting across from him, a slight grin still on his face.

"No, I kind of don't have a clue, this isn't some fling from grad school or, well, anything else that I have experience with, you know my history with women isn't exactly normal. There are some days that I really have no idea what I'm doing," Daniel admitted and Jack nodded, noting the look in his friend's eyes. He loved that woman, that crazy woman he couldn't believe his wife had hired, that punk rock younger alternate reality version of Daniel. His friend was right, however, he really didn't seem to have any idea as to what he was doing.

"Daniel, the door's always open, figuratively speaking, not that I'm an expert but I do know what not to do. And I'll see what I can do with Woolsey, smooth things over a bit," he offered, returning the smile.

"Thanks," Daniel replied, standing, glancing over at his friend once more, before opening the door.

"Daniel?" he heard called behind him and turned back around confused to see Jack grinning like a fool as he slipped the DVD back into his desk.

"Told you so," Jack winked, slamming the drawer shut, Daniel shaking his head knowing that was going to become Jack's new mantra...

"Do you care if I just wear yoga pants today sha, there aren't any BDU's in the drawer," Adrienne asked from the floor, Daniel snapping back to reality realizing that she had finished showering and was trying to get dressed. It did make it that much easier, Jack seemed supportive, maybe everything would work itself out he thought as he watched her move around his apartment like it was her space as well.

"Sure, that's fine, works with the allergy story," he responded, pointing back behind him, "I'll get you some coffee." She smiled, standing with pants in hand and walked back over to the bed.

"Thanks Indy," she answered, blushing, still obviously embarrassed about everything, tossing her clothes on the bed. Daniel left her alone, letting her sort it all out in her head on her own, returning to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Archaeology," Adrienne answered, rather chipper she thought to herself for someone suffering from an allergy attack, remembering to tone it down for their next caller.

"It's me. How are you feeling?" Vala asked on the other line, a relief to Adrienne that she didn't need to keep up her act as she could barely keep up her breakfast.

"Like merde, hot merde spread on a cracker, but I'll live," the cajun said, glancing over to Daniel to give the thumbs up that it was alright.

Nodding, he looked back down at the screen, continuing his task.

"Well, I'd love to say that I'm just calling to chat and make fun of Glasses, but Sam wants everyone down here in about an hour to discuss our next meeting of the girls club. Everyone. Including Rat Face," she explained, Adrienne cringing. As if Robert Woolsey didn't seem to have it out for her in the first place, now that he'd caught them with their pants down, literally, he seemed to be an ever existing presence in their lives.

"Ok, so what time do you need us down there?" Adrienne asked, reaching into her desk to grab her nerf gun to bring Daniel out of his trance since it seemed they were going to have to leave anyway.

"I don't know, I wasn't told to call and tell you anything, I just wanted to warn you. Eavesdropping. I'm good at that," she answered and hung up, leaving Adrienne staring at the receiver in confusion. Grunting, she placed the phone into its cradle and looked over at Daniel, firing off a round to the side of his head.

"What now?" he called out, evidently not as enthralled as she had thought as he collected the dart tossing it back over to her casually.

"That was Vala. Big meeting, Woolsey. IOA. Bullshit. She wanted to warn us in advance," Adrienne responded, catching the neon projectile and tucking both it and her gun back into the desk.

"Why do I get the feeling we're going to start owing her big time?" Daniel joked from his desk.

"Because she's in the business of saving our asses lately," Adrienne replied, getting back to her own section of the database before the real summoning was to occur.

Which it did twenty minutes later.

"Archaeology," Adrienne answered again, this time making sure to sound slightly hoarse.

"Hey Addy, it's Sam. I hope you're feeling better," the general said, genuine concern in her voice. Clearing her throat before she continued, Adrienne snapped her fingers at Daniel this time, forgoing the gun, trying to get his attention.

"Yea, a little better, thanks for asking. Must just have been something I got into," Adrienne lied feeling bad for doing so because she was certain that Sam would not care if she was hung-over or not, in fact she knew the general would be concerned; Daniel was just worried about Woolsey and she wanted to ease his fears.

"We've finally gotten the results in from your intelligence mission. Meeting in thirty in the briefing room and I need both you and Daniel present," Sam ordered politely.

"Yes ma'am," Adrienne replied, hanging up the phone for the second time to look over at Daniel, "Thirty minutes sha."

"Joy," he replied, shaking his head at the screen.

"Dr. Rowan, if you please," Rodney began, having sent Adrienne a frantic message not five minutes after Sam called requesting a powerpoint presentation on the results of his findings thus far. They made no sense to Adrienne since he had her working on translating more silly machines that did silly things while he had analyzed all of the interesting stuff from her first intelligence mission with Vala, but she had prepared them nonetheless.

Without answering, Adrienne cued up the very basic show she had been able to throw together in less than twenty minutes, preparing to do her techie magic for boss number two as she peered around the room noting the personnel present. Seated around the table were Robert Woolsey, Sam, Cameron, John, Vala, Teyla and Daniel right beside her, as usual, work separation or not. Noticing how mixed the group really was that sat in front of her, Adrienne wondered where Teal'c was, or Ronon for that matter, the additions to the original mission curious.

"As you all were aware from our last encounter with Anubis we were able to glean a few pieces of information such as coordinates and this weapon, a type of pulse pistol, that seems to be a hybrid of Goa'uld and Ori technology," he began, indicating a picture of the pistol on the screen. Glancing up Daniel noted that it did look like a Zat, stuck into the upright position, the naquada portion of the weapon replaced with something that looked more like a clip.

"Our intelligence experts have concluded that these guns are being manufactured by traders in black markets that are unofficially run by the Lucan alliance. Other than the fact that this is a hybrid weapon and further proof that the Anubis, or Inpu as the intelligence agents are calling him, is working with the Lucians, there has been nothing else we have been able to glean from this bit of information," Rodney continued, Adrienne trying not to roll her eyes.

Then why am I showing it, she wanted to say, but watched his fingers as he guided her to continue with the presentation, keeping her mouth shut.

"However, and what has taken most of our analysis is the DNA collected from Vala's clothing," he added, walking over to point to a series of grids that Adrienne couldn't read, more like didn't care to read, but had just arranged them like Rodney had shouted over the phone.

"What in the hell did you get off of my clothing other than guts?" Vala asked, pride in her face for blasting the man through, creating the very guts in question. Not acknowledging Vala, Rodney looked directly at Sam and Woolsey as he answered.

"The man that Vala shot was not an Ori solider, he wasn't a turned Jaffa, he wasn't even totally human. He was a clone," Rodney stated, crossing his arms with pride nodding for Adrienne to advance the presentation and the next slide, and to a section of a human body that Adrienne hadn't paid much attention to before it flashed onto the screen, certain parts highlighted, naming sections of the brain.

"Since when did you become a biologist?" John asked from the table, skeptical that someone with a degree in astrophysics suddenly had an interest in biological matters.

"Since we can't seem to find competent help in the field and Carson gets to spend his free time dealing with training accidents from our new cadets," Rodney shot back, returning his gaze to his superiors, giving Woolsey in particular a glare Adrienne was delighted that someone had the guts to give.

"As I was saying," he readdressed the persons he deemed in charge, "there are areas of the brain in which a significant amount of decay is being shown as you can see here," he said as he pointed, Daniel and Sam leaning forward with some sort of understanding, "it seems that in order to have the heightened growth and senses that we can see here," Rodney pointed to yet another part of the brain that Adrienne did not know, "he is sacrificing life span. Dr. Rowan, next slide please," Rodney asked, surprising Adrienne with his manners. She advanced the slide, hearing the clearing of a throat in the back of the room.

"Dr. McKay, why does any of this matter? If he is using an army of clones that are not going to live very long, isn't that to our advantage?" Woolsey questioned, once again missing the entire point, the point that even Adrienne, who was terrible at science had gathered from the presentation so far.

"Mr. Woolsey, Carson and I have been working on segments of the Asgard database provided by Dr. Rowan and Dr. Jackson, segments concerning Asgard cloning," Rodney began to explain, angry to be questioned, walking over and ripping the iPad from Adrienne's grasp, so much for polite, advancing to the final slide. Presented on the white board were two charts, one obviously showing greater growth in the numbers than the other.

"This Mr. Woolsey is the rate of cloning in the Asgard. They were forced to grow bodies for years in order to provide each new consciousness with a properly functioning vessel, but a limited vessel which forced later generations to decrease in mental abilities," he continued, stating something Adrienne had never heard before, in fact, she'd always thought what she read of Thor that he seemed very intelligent.

"Anubis has figured out a way to solve the Asgard problem even though he has no way to implement it. We do," Rodney ended, shoving the iPad back at Adrienne, who took it, breathing in deeply as she felt Daniel's gentle hand clasp her leg.

"Rodney," Sam began, shaking her head as she spoke, "why do we care about cloning? I'm not about to let my base turn into a factory for producing people," she argued, Rodney rolling her eyes.

"Samantha I'm not talking about people, yet," he threw in quickly, "I'm talking about plants, livestock, things we can trade to some of the lesser and hungry civilizations for naquada, gold, silver, trinium..."

"I think that's all we need to know general, when can we leave?" Woolsey interrupted, glancing over at Sam, his expression clear, because with the IOA, it was greed, not love, that conquered all.

"Sha, did we have any plans for next weekend?" Adrienne asked from her desk as Daniel was digging through the file cabinet, trying to pull any information he could on other civilizations they had encountered that cloned, all of which he remembered had the practice blow up in their faces. Shrugging he turned around to her, shaking his head.

"Not that I made, why?" he asked, wondering how, after that briefing, the room oozing with tension as Woolsey had stood, taking over the entire meeting to order Sam into a mission she clearly did not want to embark upon, Adrienne could be thinking about weekend plans.

"Did you hear what was happening when we left? Sam's concerned about saving the planet and Woolsey's just seeing dollar signs. I want to take her out to dinner. A NICE dinner, me, not you, because you just left her in there with those bibittes," Adrienne explained, cueing up her laptop.

"Bibettes?" Daniel asked confused, cutting his eyes at his dear assistant.

"Dickheads Indy, you left her with those dickheads," Adrienne clarified and he shook his head at her, walking back over to his desk.

"Then why don't you just say that?" he teased, trying not to laugh.

"Say what?" she asked innocently, but he caught her intent, grinning over at her.

"Nice try ja-wer," he replied, opening the folder and scanning its contents in contrast to his screen. Giggling, Adrienne sat down, getting back to work until she was told otherwise, letting him do the worrying for the both of them.

I miss being in here with him so much, she thought, typing away at the next section.

"Addy, pack up, you leave at 1900 hours," Sam ordered as she came around the corner, her tone one of exasperation and her expression as Adrienne looked up no better. Pulling headphones from his head, light orchestral music seeping out of them, Daniel peered over at Sam before glancing down at his watch.

"That's only two hours Sam, I'm nowhere near a stopping point, and Rodney really needs to take a look at some of these back files before he starts worrying about cloning here," he argued, pointing back at his screen, waving his hands around his desk.

"You're not going Daniel, it's just Adrienne on this one," Sam explained, her expression even worse.

"What do you mean I'm not going? This is Anubis, not just a scouting mission, and I think as many people who have experience with him should be aboard," Daniel arguing, standing, disregarding what he had been working on in an instant for Adrienne's safety and the sheer illogical nature of the mission.

"Mr. Woolsey doesn't feel the same. He feels that we need to maintain the cover from before, the best we can, and it is going to be Addy, Cam, John and Rodney," she replied, peeking back over her shoulder suspiciously before looking back at them. Confused, Daniel was about to ask why in the world that particular combination was being chosen, especially given that Ronon would be a better sell as a pirate when Sam rushed over in his direction.

"Daniel I need you to get on that ship," Sam hissed, under her breath, to her confused friend, who was shrugging as he walked to approach her.

"If you need me on that ship why am I not on it? And what about Teyla and Vala? The original mission was the three women, with Vala in charge, why John and Cam, why not Dex?" he retorted, stepping forward to offer Sam a seat at the center table, but she refused, shaking her hand in front of her.

"Mr. Woolsey and a few of the powers that be insisted that since Vala used her name and Teyla was captured for a few hours, the chances of Anubis' men recognizing her are high, Adrienne is the only one that Anubis wouldn't know," Sam started, Daniel beginning to interrupt when Sam threw her finger up in front of her face.

"So, the plan from Vala, yes, I was able to get them to call her down there at least, was that Addy go back, as this Sorsha character and Cam is her new partner, John and Rodney crew. Go in, try to make the deal again, kidnap a solider and get the hell out of there," Sam explained, crossing her arms, waiting for the question that was to come.

"Then why not me? I was on the first mission as well," Daniel asked, thinking that to swap Cam in now, in his place, made no sense, it made more sense that Adrienne would free her captive and declare mutiny, in fact, none of this made any sense at all.

"Because Dr. Jackson the IOA does not feel that you and Dr. Rowan are able to handle this situation without prejudice and we feel a military presence is needed on this particular mission," a voice said from the door, a voice both Adrienne and Daniel had hoped to avoid hearing for the rest of the day, Daniel especially, who glared at the man with a look sheer anger.

"Because why? Because we're together? You think that given a choice between Addy's safety and stealing a human being for your personal gain Cameron wouldn't choose Addy?" Daniel asked, refraining from adding, are you an idiot.

"Colonel Mitchell would do what was necessary to ensure success on the mission as he has been ordered to do and I cannot be assured that you would do the same," Woolsey retorted, standing away from Daniel, who Adrienne could tell was ready to explode, so she just stood there in silence, flattered that he was making such a fuss over her.

"Cameron knows nothing about Anubis, none of them do, what happens if he tries something?" Daniel asked, keeping his cool, trying to throw a little reason into his argument instead of exploding about how he was using Cam's loyalty to the United States military as an excuse to toss Adrienne to the wolves, or, in this case, the jackal.

"Dr. Rowan is familiar enough with the files, she's intelligent, she can manage," Woolsey sneered, the compliment backhanded to say the least. Breathing in before he spoke, Daniel looked back at the bureaucrat once more, hoping to try one final time.

"Mr. Woolsey, I'm requesting permission to accompany the team on this mission as I have had the most dealings with Anubis and as the co-leader of SG-1 I feel it is imperative that I'm part of any mission of which half of my team is a part of," Daniel stated professionally.

"Request denied Dr. Jackson; I'm not in the business of authorizing romantic getaways. Sleeping with a team member does not get you access to every mission she is on. You'll just need to get it out of your system before she leaves, which doesn't give the two of you that much time," he spat, turning to leave the lab, Sam and Adrienne standing there in shock.

"Get on that ship, I don't care how and I didn't tell you to," Sam ordered Daniel the moment Woolsey was out of sight, her tone deadly serious.

Not saying a word, he nodded, reaching behind himself for Adrienne's hand.

Adrienne tossed and turned in the cot, wondering how in the hell pirates slept on this, thinking then to herself that must explain their rotten disposition. Rolling to her side, her back pointing at the door, making her nervous enough, Cam across the hall or not, Adrienne willed herself to slumber, knowing she had to play Sorsha tomorrow and play her well. She was just about asleep when she heard a click behind her, at the door, and her heart stopped, her mind racing and she reached under her pillow, sliding her k-bar from where she had stowed it hours before.

Weapon in hand, she watched as the door opened slowly, a tall figure slipping into the tiny crack of light.

"It's me, put that damn knife down," Daniel hissed, unable to see her in the darkness but knowing that without him she would have slept with a knife under her pillow; it was something she told him that she did away from home.

Sighing, Adrienne did as requested, tossing the blade over to her backpack, no longer needing it, her apprehension of sleeping alone gone the moment he entered the room.

"Took ya long enough sha, where were ya?" Adrienne asked, having not seen Daniel for at least twelve hours if not longer.

Shortly after Sam had left the lab Daniel dashed off, leaving the disaster on his desk and lightly kissing her goodbye before racing down the hall, to where Adrienne had no idea.

"Cam snuck me in a spacewalk suit, no one was the wiser," Daniel explained, slipping off his boots as he approached the bed. Scooting over, Adrienne reached out, pleased that she wouldn't have to sleep alone and he pulled off his pants, tossing his jacket aside, slipping right into the bed beside her.

"We're sad and pathetic and this is why Woolsey doesn't want us on missions together," Daniel teased, reaching his hand to her face and kissing her softly, feeling her melt into his arms, pulling him tighter into her own.

"No, he's just a nasty angry man that doesn't want anyone to be happy," Adrienne replied, burying herself into his chest.

"I don't like sleeping alone anymore," she whispered into the darkness.

"Me neither," he responded, squeezing her tightly before letting himself fall asleep.

"How in the hell did you get in here?" Rodney exclaimed as Daniel walked into the small eating area, Adrienne trailing behind, exhausted and nervous.

"Through the door," Daniel answered smartly, avoiding eye contact and walking over to where Cam was preparing a sort of make shift breakfast of powdered eggs and coffee. Hoping to skirt the argument, Adrienne powered ahead to where her running buddy had a cup out in front of him, reading her mind.

"I thought Mr. Woolsey was very clear that you were not to come along on missions with your girlfriend!" Rodney spat and Daniel could read the suggestion in his voice. It wasn't the fact that Daniel and Adrienne were together that was bothering him so, it was the fact that Rodney always felt threatened by Daniel and if Daniel was here, then he would have some stiff competition.

"Rodney, I'm not getting into this with you. This isn't about Adrienne, it's about the fact that not one of you has had experience dealing with Anubis. Yes, I want to keep her safe, but I want to keep all of you from harm and if my knowledge can do that so be it. Unless of course you have a plan for if you come face to face with him in which case, I'm all ears," Daniel retorted smugly, crossing his arms in front of him watching Rodney's glare straight through him.

"We're not going to run into Anubis, Vala and I carefully planned every aspect of this mission. You want to come babysit Dr. Rowan, fine, but stay out of my way," the scientist hissed back, turning to storm out of the room to where no one knew.

The door closed with a loud smack, John rolling his eyes before peeking back at the group.

"I'll go deal with the big baby, Jackson glad to see you figured out a way on. Cam can brief you on the details; I'll be back soon," he explained, apology in his voice, trailing behind his comrade.

Laughing, Cam reached out to give Daniel a cup of coffee as well, the three members of SG-1 sitting around the small cafeteria table with plates of what Adrienne believed had never seen eggs.

"Suit not too bad?" Cam asked, shoving a forkful into his mouth as Daniel sipped his coffee, shaking his head.

"Little hot, but I didn't stay in there long. Thanks by the way," Daniel added, his fork running slowly through the eggs, thinking to himself how much influence Adrienne really had on his eating since he was finding the presentation in front of him thoroughly disgusting.

"Don't mention it. Only Woolsey would be stupid enough to send us all the way the hell out here blind. No offense to you Addy, but I prefer to have someone on board with more experience than just folders," Cam added, glancing over at Adrienne to make sure that he hadn't offended her, which she made clear by a shake of her fork that he hadn't.

Swallowing, god these eggs were awful, damn Adrienne, Daniel washed down the mess with some coffee, before questioning him further.

"So, what is this plan that Vala and Rodney have cooked up?" he asked, Adrienne shaking her head, oh great even she doesn't like it, as he peered over in her direction, indicating exactly what he thought, that he had missed very little cramped into a smelly old spacesuit.

"Basically, we go back to Vala's original coordinates. Addy here's gonna tell them that she has something to trade, Vala suggested weapons but I'm not sold on that. Tell them that she betrayed Vala and wants in on the trade. After that, Vala says just like last time, except Addy needs to insist that they meet on a planet, somewhere public, a bar, Vala gave the name of some place she used to use. Addy negotiates while Rodney and Sheppard beam down, grab a goon and beam back," Cam explained, but both Adrienne and Daniel could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't happy in the least about the plan.

Forcing down another forkful of warm yellow mush, Daniel looked back up at Cameron, his own doubt evident.

"That's the big plan? Repeat last time with one change and hope for the best. I'd expect better from Vala," he trailed at the end, leading Cam to answer.

"Vala AND Rodney. I think the latter more than the former," the colonel agreed, peering over at Adrienne who had remained surprisingly quiet, picking at her eggs and practically ignoring her coffee, "Girl, how are you feeling about this?"

What a question, Adrienne thought, one that she didn't have an answer for.

Sure, she knew she could handle it, despite Daniel's constant teasing of her acting skills, she had gotten pretty good at pulling off ruses just like this, especially when put on the spot. On the other hand there was so much riding on this mission, so many people counting on her that if she screwed this up she wasn't quite sure how she would be received or how she would be able to face her team or Sam for that matter.

It would really look like she had slept her way to the top.

She opened her mouth to answer when she felt a palm lay on the small of her back, rubbing lightly, and knew he was reaching out to give her physical reassurance rather than embarrass her with verbal cheerleading.

Can't we just go back to bed and cuddle, Adrienne thought for a split second, before laughing at her own absurd ideas, taking a sip of the disgusting instant coffee before answering.

"I'm ok. I was there when Vala negotiated before, I've seen how she does it," Adrienne began when a thought popped into her head, a blip of she and Vala's brief private conversation in her quarters, "but there is one thing we need to change."

Nodding, swallowing, apparently open to suggestions, Cam gestured with his hand for her to continue, which she did, taking a deep breath before she spoke.

"Daniel needs to be my partner, not you Cam. If I'm playing the part I played before, it's a bit more believable if I took my captive as my lover and overthrew Vala than just showed up here with another random man and according to Vala, we were pretty transparent," Adrienne added the last part carefully, hoping it wasn't taking it too far,

Daniel already thinking to himself how much he loved this woman, this perfect woman who could read his mind and judging by the smile on Cam's face, apparently his as well.

"One step ahead of you girl, one step ahead."

Rodney had the exact reaction that Daniel anticipated, a tantrum, insisting as Daniel had originally thought that he was there to usurp the mission. He wasn't, in fact, more than anything the idea of the mission itself disgusted him because clone or not the person they were sent to steal was a human being and if the IOA was going to start sending teams to participate in kidnapping, Daniel at least wanted to make sure that they would be treated humanely.

Once John had spoken to him, however, he did have to agree that using Daniel did make better cover, made Adrienne have to create less of a backstory and therefore give her less to lie about. That didn't stop his pouting though, as he spent much on the next four days in transport, twice as long since they didn't gate to Langara this time, hiding in the makeshift lab/quarters he had set up, leaving Daniel, Cam, John and Adrienne to entertain themselves, which they did, playing cards, talking, with poor Adrienne and Cam stir crazy since they were unable to work out.

To be honest, it was kind of driving Adrienne just the tiniest bit insane as she realized that in the past few months she had become quite spoiled by her relationship with Daniel. It was nice to not be sleeping alone, the small bunks forcing them to sleep so impossibly close, holding onto one another tightly, but Adrienne did miss making love to him; however neither of them really wanted to cause anymore trouble than Daniel's presence already was. Forcing herself to tow the line, Adrienne laid each night in his arms, trying not to think about rolling over and pecking her way up the side of his neck.

It was a little past three p.m. earth time on the fourth day, Adrienne's analog watch ticking the minutes by, when the call came in, interrupting she and Cam's card game. She couldn't have been more pleased, she already owed him a six pack of beer and a racing technical so this game really needed to come to a close, and fast.

"Dr. Rowan, Colonel Mitchell," Rodney's voice came over the loudspeaker, startling Adrienne so much that she dropped her cards onto the table, revealing her very poor hand, "We need you down to the bridge."

"Showtime girlie," Cam said, tossing his own hand onto the table, three tens proudly displayed, "and now you owe me another six pack," he added as he pointed to her hand, a pair of threes, a two, a king and a jack.

"Why do I suck at the simplest things?" she bemoaned, sticking her tongue out at Cam, before heading out of the mess area, Cam laughing as he brought up the rear.

When she tapped the button to enter the bridge she was surprised, although she shouldn't have been, to hear Daniel and Rodney arguing over the plan, yet again, as John steered the ship to what looked like a collection of rusted vessels. She couldn't help it, she should be taking things seriously right now, but she wanted to make a joke right about now about how this situation was anything but 'shiny.'

No Firefly jokes Addy, she told herself, walking straight up to Daniel and resting her hand on his shoulder, disregarding what anyone would think. He stopped shouting instantly, reaching to rest his hand over hers, pulling it down to the side but clasping it lightly.

"Are you ready?" Daniel asked cutting Rodney off mid yell.

"Is there a no option?" she replied, joking as she squeezed his hand and let go, looking ahead to Rodney who was still obviously fuming from whatever he and Daniel were arguing about now.

"No, Dr. Rowan, and we need for you to stop trying to be funny. Now, what you need to say is that you mutinied Vala, took over the ship and have some items of intrest- ," Rodney began, a hand shoved into his face, a hand that Adrienne couldn't believe that she had shoved there.

"I've got this, no worries," she responded coolly, reaching cautiously for the button, the very same button she had seen Vala strike before, clearing her throat as she did.

"Someone better be able to tell me where that fucker Dagal is," Adrienne practically growled into the speaker, every last man in the room looking at her in complete and utter shock, Daniel the most surprised, not at the swear, he had heard those sorts of words come out of her mouth many times before, generally directed at him, but at the manner in which she spoke.

She was, believable, and could read his expression from a mile away, her finger releasing the cool metal circle.

"We've had a few days, I've been practicing," she shrugged, clearing her throat yet again and repeating her request.

"Code," a response came back as calm and collected as Adrienne seemed to be.

"I don't need any fucking code. Dagal knows me and if he knows what's best for him he'll answer or he'll meet the same fate as Vala," Adrienne hissed back, Daniel covering his mouth to suppress a giggle.

Lifting the button, she glanced back at him confused.

"Ja-wer, pirates don't say things like "meet the same fate," he teased lightly, his arm smacked in return.

"What do ya mean fate as Vala? What did ya do to her?" the voice over the crackling speaker was clear, it was Dagal, the memory of the voice matched to the greasy face giving Adrienne chills.

It took her a moment longer to answer than she had anticipated, her in room practice sessions unable to prepare her for actually have to hear his voice once again.

Swallowing, she leaned forward a bit closer.

"Let's just say I don't like my property to be fucked with," Adrienne replied, winking in the direction of Daniel, who instantly understood her meaning as did Dagal who was laughing loudly.

"Tried to take that pretty boy from ya didn't she Sorcha? Well, I've no use for a pretty boy, but if you have shit worth selling, I might have a buyer, especially if you can guarantee you took care of Mal Doran. Her stunt last time hasn't made you very popular here..." he responded, Daniel frowning at the console.

"Pretty boy?" he questioned, Adrienne shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the things he would worry about sometimes, stupid things, like being called pretty boy.

"I can, now you wanna deal or what?" the cajun asked, hoping to seal the deal, tapping the button quickly to add another detail, "but I'm not stupid. My men and I will meet you on the planet's surface. I will not board another ship."

"Fair enough," the voice laughed back, more chills, continuing with the transmission, "I'll send coordinates. Table for two I assume, you don't want to let your toy out of your sight?"

"One hour. Longer and you miss your chance," Adrienne spat in return, standing back and taking a breath, turning to face the group.

"Ok, we've got an hour, let's figure this shit out shall we?"

Glancing between themselves, the men nodded, Daniel's face gleaming with pride.

"You really have weapons?" Daniel asked in amazement as Adrienne led him to the back cargo hold, prying open a wooden crate filled to the top with Goa'uld weapons, very familiar Goa'uld weapons.

"Are those?" he questioned, leaning down beside her to reach in, pulling out a few pieces with his hands, re-examining them. He hadn't seen them in months, he knew they were planted by Anubis to lure them in, but the weapons themselves proved to be nothing special and had been put into storage with the other less than useful items.

Nodding without words, her pale hand reached in beside him, squeezing gently before pulling out a hand weapon, sliding it carefully onto her fingers, adjusting it as he had seen so many people do so before.

It gave him chills seeing yet another woman that he cared about strap the contraption to her body, but he willed himself to control any outward negative reaction that he may be having seeing that Adrienne had a plan.

"Yeah, they're the ones we found with Sarah. Vala said since we really don't need them to sell them," Adrienne explained, wiggling her fingers into place. Daniel was puzzled; he wasn't sure what Adrienne was doing with the thing, she couldn't fire it, when she gently moved him away, reaching for a leather pouch strapped to her hip. Her fingers slid inside and she produced a long red rubber band and syringe, sitting back onto her heels.

"What's that?" Daniel asked, confused, having seen her shoot herself with vitamin B dozens of times but mystified as she wrapped the red strap around her bicep, pulling it tight with her teeth. He'd never seen her do that before, nor had he seen her flick the needle like she was doing and flick the vein in the crook of her arm. Stretching her fingers, she looked up at him with a slight smile, popping the cap off with her mouth and wordlessly sliding the point of the needle into her vein. She hissed in, puckering her lips to blow out slowly while her finger eased the plunger to the end. Sucking in air a final time, Adrienne slid the needle from her arm, reattaching the cap and tossing the trash aside into the far corner.

"That's Vala's DNA, or it's like a cocktail or something, you know me and hard science. Jen's been working on it for a while, trying to make it so anyone can use the Goa'uld weapons that are lying around," Adrienne explained as she shivered.

Concerned, Daniel reached out for her, pulling her close to his body, her reaction to whatever she had just injected in herself troubling.

"I haven't heard of that, Sam didn't mention anything about it," he stated, holding her tighter as her body convulsed violently for a few seconds.

"She doesn't know about it. Just started human trails, Jennifer really didn't want to have to tell Sam anything she'd be forced to disclose to the IOA until we were sure it would work," Adrienne answered, backing up from him and standing, shaking her hands in front of her and jumping up and down as if she were preparing for a race.

"Has it worked so far in the trails?" he asked, fearful of Adrienne being the first person to use technology like this so soon after it had been released. Shrugging, she turned her back to him, pointing her hand to the corner of the room and closed her eyes. There was a moment of silence, penetrating quiet when her hand roared to life a beam emitting from the palm of her hand, disintegrating the syringe into a pile of dust and smoke.

"Trail one, success," Adrienne replied, sheepishly, bolting for the door before he could start to yell, Daniel following behind her trying to suppress his vehement objections.

The coordinates were to a bar, as Vala had suggested, so very cliche Adrienne thought, just like one of her movies, and she clung to those silly thoughts to keep herself calm.

"Anything else you can think of?" Daniel whispered, sitting beside her at the table, reading her face.

"No sha, stop fishing, just let me handle this. Vala and I went through everything while you were playing hide and seek," she joked back, her gaze to the door, looking for their host.

"I hope you realize how mortally terrifying it is to hear you say that you and Vala have it taken care of," he quipped, raising his eyebrows, trying to play it cool himself, his left hand reaching down for his leg, the weapon recovered by Vala in their last encounter with Anubis' men strapped carefully there.

"Shut up Indy," she replied, her eyes now at her nails, heavily picked, her index finger almost bleeding.

"So she brings the toy with her," a voice spoke from behind her, making her turn around quickly, not liking being taken off guard but slipping into the persona, the one Vala had begged her to practice.

I can do this, Adrienne thought, Vala said I can do this.

"He has multiple uses," she responded naturally, her right hand slipping down, ready in an instant to grab Eric and blow the trader off of the planet, but he laughed, reaching for the table behind him to bring a chair to her side, very close to her, so much so that their knees were touching as he took his seat.

"So, the ship," Dagal started, disregarding Adrienne's response, and she shook her head, her face cold, hard, like Daniel had never seen before.

"I told you I have weapons and information. Vala was screwing you on the ship, it wouldn't fly, he'd disabled it," Adrienne answered cocking her head at Daniel.

No longer as pleased by their meeting it seemed, Dagal leaned forward on the table, glaring strongly at Adrienne as if they were alone, as if her companion wasn't even there.

"Inpu doesn't want weapons. He has weapons," the trader responded flatly, his glare piercing through Adrienne. She shrugged, wishing that she had brought a gun rather than Eric because this was turning very quickly into Han Solo versus Greedo.

"So, you're now in the business of serving Inpu?" Adrienne asked, sneering right back, hoping that Daniel could read her face when she was acting too, read the look that was saying "We might need to shoot this fucker love," that she was trying to convey.

"I serve no one, but I am in the business of going where the money is. He is where the money is, and his money is in ships, not in weapons," Dagal argued, sitting back, feeling the anger radiating off of the woman.

"Consider the weapons my gift, an offering to your boss man to start up this little business venture. What I really have is information," Adrienne taunted, lingering on the last words.

"Inpu has spies everywhere, what makes your information that much better?" he challenged, cutting his eyes at Daniel, who he was certain was the source of said information.

"Because his name isn't MadMartigan. And he isn't Lucian. He's Taur'i," Adrienne replied quickly.

Daniel almost dropped his gun.

"They're taking too long," Rodney complained from the bridge watching John and Cam play cards on the console between them, "who in the hell decided that the archaeology department needed to suddenly become action heroes?"

Throwing down his hand, full house, Cam shook his head at Rodney while reaching out for John to pay him again for his loss.

"They've both done things like this before. Can't you just chill the hell out?" Cam asked, taking the five from John and shoving it into his pocket.

"Rodney doesn't know the meaning of chill the hell out," John answered, moving to shuffle again.

Angry, his impatience growing, Rodney glared at them both, now pointing to the game started in front of him.

"So you two are just fine sitting here waiting, hoping that she doesn't screw this up or start pretending this is Star Wars and play cards!?" Rodney demanded, reaching to yank said cards from John's hand to have his fingers smacked violently by Cameron, who was reaching to shuffle the deck himself.

"Yep, and for the record if Addy starts choking giant mobsters with chains a la Princess Leia that would be pretty damn cool," he joked, glancing up at John for approval which he gave with his own chuckle and nod.

"The biggest issue in this program is the lack of competent leadership," Rodney spat at John, storming out of the bridge.

"Where's he going?" Cam asked, cocking his head at the door as he shuffled.

"Probably to hide in his hole, that's what he usually does," John replied, taking a swig from his bottled water.

"Just like Jackson pre-Addy," Cam joked.

"Pretty much," John replied, reaching to take his cards.

The rings were on the bridge, but he didn't plan on using those to head down to the surface. This ship wasn't very big, but it had been big enough for the cargo hold to take a puddle jumper, a puddle jumper that John insisted on taking, wanting every possible escape he could get. He didn't like this plan any more than Sam and he wasn't about to sacrifice half of SG-1 as well as Atlantis head team for one damn mission, IOA mandated or not and fortunately for Rodney, this was exactly the kind of attitude that was going to work in his favor.

"Let Jackson's little girlfriend screw this up; I'm gonna go down there myself, slap one of the bastards with a transmitter and viola, mission over, none of this spy game crap," Rodney muttered to himself storming through the dark brown hallways leading past their quarters and to the cargo hold, the door a mere fifty feet in front of him.

"This should have been the damn plan in the first place," he added, coding himself into the hold marching straight for the control panel, ignoring the jumper completely. The screen was in Goa'uld, he hated that stupid language, it was easier to make Jackson or Rowan read it, but he didn't have a lot of choice right now so he sighed, hoping for the best.

Scanning the keys he entered in the code, he waited, tapping his foot impatiently, for the confirming lights and message. There was nothing and he was getting nervous; if he entered the code incorrectly too many times he would be locked out just like simple Earth coded systems.

He had to hope he had translated this correctly.

Just when he was about to panic, one try down and he had no idea how many to go, a message flashed across the screen letting him know that the bridge no longer had contact with the cargo hold.

"Now Sheppard, let's see how much attention you pay to your ship," Rodney sneered waiting for his communicator or even the ship's all call to begin to search for him, but there was nothing, just boring yet agonizing minutes of silence. Rodney glanced at his watch noting seven minutes have passed with no word from either colonel that he had left at the bridge.

"I'm not sure what's more disturbing, your lack of concern or your faith in that woman," he grumbled, tapping his pocket to check for the ring transponder as he proceeded to the back of the jumper, opening the airlock.

"What do you mean Taur'i?" Dagal asked, his tone completely different now; he was intrigued just as Adrienne had planned.

She probably should have explained this part to Daniel, but like the DNA, she was certain that he wouldn't have approved, so she had kept him in the dark as much as possible.

"Taur'i, from Earth, home of the famed SGC, you know, Vala's good buddies?" Adrienne smiled, trying to send Daniel messages with her eyes, messages that she had everything under control.

"I get that, I want to know who he is," Dagal clarified, his eyes not having left Daniel's for a second, eyes that were tired and dry from wearing the contacts that Adrienne had forced him to wear.

"His name is Anthony, Anthony Davis. Lab rat, lower levels, but had some access to Dr. Jackson," Adrienne lied, deftly, again surprising Daniel, relieving him at the same time as Dagal nodded, believing her story.

This was going better than Daniel ever thought she could pull off, there was no flaw in her story, no hesitation in her speech.

"Ok, how did you get him to talk? Seems to me that I'd have a hard time not slitting the throat of any bitch who hit me with that staff like you did..." Dagal pushed, making Daniel's heart race again. He wanted to speak, but he couldn't come up with a good enough story himself, when Adrienne leaned back in her chair and started to laugh.

"Let's just say he's got loose lips when at the height of pleasure," Adrienne replied smoothly, peering over at him, warning him not to blush, not to argue, just go with the flow.

"I think I made the best choice, given staying there or being here," Daniel added, cutting his eyes over at Adrienne, hoping it was the right thing to say and it was, Adrienne smiling slyly at his response.

Their Lucian friend however, remained silent, glancing back and forth between them trying to determine whether or not it was all a lie.

Buy it, Daniel thought, can't the way I look at her be enough?

"Weapons then," he man agreed, both archaeologists breathing a sigh of relief, on the inside at least, "but how do we know they work? If they are Goa'uld weapons I have no way of assuring Inpu they will work," he asked and Adrienne just stood, smiling, pointing her hand toward the ground releasing a beam of red light onto the ground, blasting a deep hole into the floor of the bar, all eyes now on her and her performance, before looking back at him smiling.

"Dagal my dear, don't underestimate me like Vala did. It will only result in your death," Adrienne warned, clenching her hand into a fist as the pirate smiled.

There was an open field, if you could call it that considering the disgusting space port has resulted in mostly desertification of the entire area, area that based on the trees in the distance should not be desert, that looked as good as any other place to touch down. He landed the jumper, poorly, he wasn't too good at flying it even though he could, behind a collection of buildings, if you could call them that, engaging the cloaking device as he exited. Checking his pockets a final time, he made his way for the collection of people milling around in the distance.

It was hot here too, he thought, shame these idiots couldn't take care of their own planet, but that was their problem right now his only concern was to find one of those clones, get him sent up to the ship and get them the hell out of there. Bringing his hand to his forehead, Rodney McKay gazed out into the distance, powering out into the crowd.

"Please tell me McKay didn't just go and screw this all up," Shepard plead the moment the rings appeared in front of him, Daniel and Adrienne taking shape in their line of sight. The rings disappeared back into the floor, Daniel looking up at them surprised.

"What, was there something else supposed to happen that I missed, because at this point I'm still trying to figure out what happened to my assistant and who this woman is," Daniel joked at Adrienne, who was flushing, shoving his arm back playfully.

"He didn't make it to you guys? He took a jumper down, we didn't notice because he hacked into the alert system, and went down to the surface. Has been complaining for hours that you two took too long and that Adrienne was gonna blow our cover," John explained, concern in his voice, peering over his shoulder at Cameron who now had concern of his own as did both Daniel and Adrienne, who were looking at each other stunned, shaking their heads.

"No, we went down, met with Dagal, gave him the spiel and came back. We're supposed to head back down to the surface in five hours," the cajun stressed five hours, significantly less time than they had with Vala and she wanted them to be aware that they needed to be getting ready to make this all happen. Eyes meeting, the two men looked at one another then back at Daniel and Adrienne who had yet to move from the ring transport area.

"You don't think?" Cam asked, throwing his hands up at John, unable to believe that someone like Rodney, not Vala, but Rodney would do something this foolish.

Why in the hell would he believe that he could do this himself?

"I don't think, I know, we need to head down there," John growled, stepping forward to move Adrienne and Daniel from their positions intent on going down their himself to recover the missing scientist when Adrienne stepped forward, stopping him, glancing back at Daniel.

"No, let us go. Keep cover. I'll call him incompetent, blame his fear, make him look space crazy or something. You guys stay just in case we need to get out of here fast," Adrienne ordered, confidently, like she had done on the surface, Daniel smiling with pride.

"Girl, you sure?" Cam questioned, Daniel already shaking his head.

"Oh yeah, she's got this covered," he assured his teammates looking down at the love of his life. She's got this covered and she looks so amazingly hot doing it, he couldn't help but think, shaking his head and taking a breath to refocus on the situation at hand.

Stepping back, John just nodded, making his way to the control panel to send the pair back down, hoping that whatever Adrienne could come up with was good enough to repair the disaster that he was sure Rodney was creating.

There were no lights in the room save for a faint orange glow of something electronic in the far left hand corner. Starting to sit up, Rodney discovered that he was bound, his hands tied tightly behind him, allowing him only the use of his feet to stand upright on the cold floor. He tried to stand, bracing himself on his elbows, slipping miserably downward.

"Help him," a voice ordered from behind him, startling him as he thought he was alone in some sort of cell. His last memory was being led by a woman to a group of soldiers and his feeble effort to talk to them, asking them if they had seen his captain, describing Addy the best he could remember, red leather breeches, a blue leather bodice shirt, pale skin, dark shoulder length hair, those crazy evil looking eyes of hers but none of them knew what he was talking about, not a soul, and he started to back away when he realized what he was wearing: BDU's. Most of the soldiers must have been clones but one, one wasn't, and before Rodney could yell for help, scream, make any kind of scene, the zat was pointed at him.

His last memory was the stream of lightening heading in his direction.

Hands swept under his arms, lifting him thankfully from the cold, although the grip was painful, making him hiss out in discomfort. His helpers tossed him forward so roughly he almost stumbled and went crashing down again, but caught himself just in time to hear the voice behind him speak again.

"It seems the planet is crawling with Taur'i today. Miss Mal Doran's murderer has a Taur'i lover and now you. Care to tell me what the sudden fascination in Lucian affairs is it seems that Jack O'Neill is suffering from?" the voice continued, closer this time, so close that Rodney could feel warm breath at his neck making his hair stand on edge. He panicked, unsure as to what he could say; he didn't know how this person knew Daniel was one of them unless Adrienne had told him, but why would she do that? Why would she just offer Daniel up when Anubis could be anywhere?

"Don't bother answering Dr. McKay, it is still a lie when it is an omission," his captor responded coolly. How did he know his name?

And then it hit him.

"So what's the plan?" Daniel asked as the rings lifted, Adrienne speeding ahead of him adjusting her fingers into Kara Kesh in a way that gave Daniel chills. She seemed way too comfortable with that device and each clench of her fist was an eerie parallel into a past life, one he cared not to repeat.

Peeking over her shoulder, Adrienne checked to insure that they were alone before opening her palm, aiming her hand to the ground yet not one shot emanated from her fingers tips.

"Dammit," she swore, reaching for Daniel's own vest, pulling him into a side alley way.

"Block me," she ordered, opening the leather pouch at her waist, collecting yet another syringe into her palm.

"That didn't last very long," Daniel observed as she repeated her procedure from this morning quickly, no hesitation, a woman on a mission in every sense of the word, "How long was it supposed to last?" he added watching her glare at him as she pulled the red rubber strap tight with her teeth.

"Right, guinea pig," he reminded himself, not letting her answer, half tempted to scold her for allowing herself to be part of such an experiment but the look on her face was enough to tell him to keep his mouth shut.

"Help me," she requested now, fumbling with the objects that before she had handled with ease, the nerves causing her to tremble. Removing the needle gently from her hand, he slipped off the cap to the syringe, turning her arm and flicking her vein, taking this opportunity for scolding.

"I don't like this ja-wer," he whispered, rubbing her arm tenderly before inserting the needle, "any of this," he clarified.

Hissing in as the cold fluid shot into her veins, Adrienne peered up at him with a scowl, somewhat playful and somewhat serious as she started to shake and convulse as she had done before.

"I'm sorry sha, it's just for this. Trust me, I don't like having Vala in me either. Let's just let this do it's magic, get that cooyon and get da hell outta here," she assured him, lifting her arm to pinch the area taut.

Reaching out to grab her hand and kiss it lightly, Daniel recapped the syringe carefully, tossing it back into her pack pulling her into his arms to hold her while the tremors rocketed through her body once more.

Shaking subsiding, Adrienne glanced back at him a final time, raising her eyebrows before marching confidentially out of the alley, motioning for Daniel to follow.

"I know who you are," Rodney managed to choke out as the man, the creature, whatever he was paced in front of him, coming to a halt inches from his face sending terror deep into his soul.

"Good, then you know not to question me. Now Dr. McKay, I have no need for you and your life matters to me not, however I will let you live if you tell me what I need to know," Anubis explained, backing away, allowing Rodney space to breathe again. He wanted to speak, his body was begging him to fall into the floor graveling, begging for his life and offering whatever the ancient being wanted, but he remembered his friends, he remembered Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon, SG-1 and even his new part time assistant, who really wasn't that bad.

Saving his own ass wasn't worth risking any of theirs.

"I won't tell you anything. I don't care what you do to me," Rodney said, his voice nowhere near as confident as he had imagined in his head.

"An idiot like the rest of them," his captor stated as Rodney began to feel the air around him squeeze his lungs.

"I'm looking for my navigator," Adrienne hissed as she leaned over the bar to the man operating a large crystal machine pumping out a neon orange concoction that seemed to be as popular as beer.

"And I'm looking for a woman to fuck me silly and cook me dinner, but you don't see me walking around bitching about it," the man answered, pivoting around to serve a drink to a nearby gentleman, another slimy Lucian trader. Angry, her request wasn't even rude, not by the standards of these people, Adrienne composed herself, trying another tactic.

"He's about as tall as my friend here, missing some hair, wearing green pants, black t-shirt, annoying," she started to describe as the man continued to ignore her, serving up more drinks.

Seeing that this was getting them nowhere, Daniel stepped forward to speak when he felt a hand push him back, her hand, her left hand, her right hand placed strategically on the counter.

"I do not like being ignored," Adrienne warned, a buzzing shaking the counter.

Confused, the barkeep turned to see what was going on, his eyes widening and peering over her shoulder, Daniel saw that Adrienne was standing there, palm up, the small metallic circle in her hand glowing to life.

"Haven't seen him, but I know where people go when they vanish," he answered, his tone changing instantly.

Wow Ad, Daniel thought, you're just full of surprises today.

Her expression not changing, Adrienne closed her hand, retracting her arm to behind the counter.

"Thank you," she replied, leaning forward for her information.

"Let's start with what I know and I can gauge your reaction to see how close I am, how does that sound," the voice reasoning with him almost sounded jovial, delighted to be here with him rather than threatening as it should. It was strangely relaxing to Rodney, who was determined not to give anything away, holding out for that hope that John would notice his absence, figure out what he had done and come racing to his rescue.

How feminine McKay, he thought, breathing in and preparing not to answer.

"I know that Dr. Jackson is still working with the SGC analyzing the Asgard knowledge, knowledge that was rightfully mine," he began, pacing around Rodney in a circle, the scientist choosing not to answer.

"See, simple, that's a yes. Continuing. I know that you have changed your access codes to your allies, as I had hoped, cutting you off from many of your friends you had come to count on for so long," he added, Rodney's heart racing.

How did he know that?

Did he send those goons through on purpose, just to be killed?

Was this all part of his plan, whatever it was?

Did he know that since the Tok'ra had contacted them?

Silence didn't seem to be working for him, but he wasn't sure what to say.

"You know nothing about our allies," Rodney feigned bravery, a laugh of disbelief in return, a face in his own, hot breath heating his nose.

"I know everything I need to know and you are going to tell me the rest," he threatened, the air squeezing again, but the silhouette in front of him didn't move as he fell to his knees unable to breath, looking back at his captor, noting a green light at his wrist, a light with numbers...

"At the risk of sounding like one of your movies, I have a bad feeling about this," Daniel whispered to Adrienne as she continued to stride confidently through the back alleys, following the complicated directions given to her by the bar tender.

"Me too, but do you want to leave Rodney?" Adrienne asked over her shoulder, pausing and closing her eyes, trying to summon up the scene in the bar once more to recall the specific directions, Daniel running right into her.

"Watch out Indy," she spat as he caught himself at her shoulders.

"Sorry, you stopped right in front of me. Are we lost?" he asked, unsure as to what was going on.

"Nope," she answered, a song like quality to her response, trudging forward, Daniel shaking his head following behind.

The pressure in his chest was so great he was unsure if he really wanted to live anymore, the pain caused by trying to fight the pressure greater than any he had ever experienced before. He laid his head onto the cold damp floor, giving up, giving in, when the pressure was gone, the figure standing above him, straddling his waist with large boot clad feet.

"Shall we continue Dr. McKay?" Anubis asked, not moving, not flinching, unafraid of Rodney in the least, but the doctor didn't respond, just lay there quietly.

"I just want to know why you are here. I know you have Dr. Jackson with you; I'm not ready to deal with him just yet, but he usually doesn't hide. It's not like him to not come and face me. Why are you here?" he continued, the air around Rodney's chest pushing in again, caving in, that feeling of desperation returning.

Would he stop?

Would he stop if he just told half of the truth?

"Clones," Rodney choked out, the part of him that still desired to live overtaking the rest, and it worked, the sensation eased and he could breathe again.

"So, that was Mal Doran on that ship. She must have taken a few pieces back on board. What do you know of my clones?" he asked, the pressure increasing before Rodney could answer.

"Nothing, that's why we are here. We wanted to take one to study," Rodney lied, partially, not wanting to mention what he had discovered: the life span, the increased capabilities, that was why, that was why the air affected him so, why hadn't this worked, why hadn't he been able to get a clone and get out of here, if only Adrienne hadn't taken so long, he shouldn't have let them listen to Vala, it hurt, it hurt so badly...

"Of course, that is why Dr. Jackson and that woman were on the surface, negotiating with that man, as a distraction so you could come down here and capture one of my men, is that correct?" the questions turned, Rodney unsure how to answer, if he should answer, the squeeze choking his lungs, he wanted it to stop, the vein in his head throbbing...

"Yes, he and Dr. Rowan were going to sell some weapons to buy us time to take one of your men. She's pretending to have killed Vala, taken her ship, her crew her cargo," Rodney could no longer bear the pain, spilling out everything, willing to answer anything he asked.

"Now we are getting somewhere..." Anubis chuckled, stepping away, that green indicator flashing brightly.

"I told you I had a bad feeling about this," Daniel said, his eyes rolling under his glasses as he glanced over at Adrienne, who was backing up as well, her eyes focused on the clone Jaffa heading in her direction as Daniel tried to pretend there were none heading in his.

"Can we argue about this later sha?" Adrienne hissed, scanning the room for an escape but seeing none, only the door in front of them, the one that she had picked the lock to enter, the one that she had been certain was unguarded which it was on the inside just not the out. Moments after Daniel and Adrienne had rushed into the room, the small door leading to where she was certain Rodney was being held in front of them, a throng of men dashed in behind him, closing their only way out.

"Who are you?" one of the men asked, the one in front, the one that looked like the one beside him, and the next one, and the next one, all with pale skin, black hair and black pupil-less eyes, clones without a doubt.

"Sorry, we got lost," Adrienne tried and failed to explain, the lead clone looking left and right at his companions before taking another step forward.

"You both will come with me," he directed, reaching out his hand to grab Adrienne's wrist, a wrist she jerked back to her side, taking another staggered step toward the second door.

Fear in her eyes she glanced at Daniel, finally out of confidence, this wasn't a movie, this was it, she was going to be taken captive, taken by this Anubis, this evil man that Daniel had told her about so long ago, his face torn and broken and she had held him, this was going to be her fate and she would never have the chance to tell Daniel that she would, that given the choice she would take back everything she had ever said about forever just to spend it with him...

"Sorsha?" Daniel asked calmly from behind, bringing her out of her panic attack and back to reality.

"Sorsha, if ERIC would just give me a sword, I'd win this war for Galladoorn," Daniel stated, cool, collected from beside her. What? Eric? Sword? Galladoorn? Why was he screwing up quotes from Willow?

"Sorsha, I cannot believe that Eric would just leaving me hanging like this when I am right up here," Daniel continued, when it clued in for her, what he meant.

"All the way up in that crow's rest?" she clarified, thankful that they were so used to speaking in code to hide their relationship that this was second nature.

"Yep," he responded, taking a quick scan of the room noting that there were two on his side, four on hers. We can do this, he thought, we just have to move quickly.

"HYAH!" Adrienne shouted out, throwing her staff weapon into the air and dropping to her right knee sweeping the man closet to her with her left, firing the hand device at another advancing soldier. Glancing up she caught sight of Daniel catching her staff, activating it the moment it reached his fingers, the head opening as it cut through air, a beam of light blasting the man furthest to his right when she heard shuffling behind her. She turned, just in time to dodge a clumsily grab from a third man, hearing a zat activated to her right, so she leapt up, firing with her hand blindly to the source of the gun, hoping she'd hit her attacker and not Daniel, hook kicking the other with her left leg, heel to temple, sending him crashing to the ground. There was a thud, and Adrienne pivoted on her heels to see Daniel slamming a guard with the back of her weapon, knocking him unconscious to whirl the weapon behind him.

_Oh dear god he looks so amazing right now._

The staff spun again, Daniel bringing it quickly to his side.

"Zat any of them that are still alive," he ordered, strength and command in his voice.

Impressed, taken aback, floored, Adrienne did as he asked, grabbing the closest zat and marching up to him, grabbing him by the deep blue leather vest he was wearing and pulling him to her, pressing her lips forcefully to his.

"Hotter than words can express sha," she said breathless as she let go, making quick work of the unconscious men as Daniel stood there in shock, mouth open, tingles racing from his head to his toes.

The commotion to his left brought him back, his head throbbing, his lungs no longer pumping air through his body as they should, only vaguely aware of what he had been saying. He remembered something about the database, the shield Adrienne had found, the findings from the clone DNA, and had answered a surprising number of questions about the wraith, what he knew of their cloning, the iratus bug, his memory was so cloudy he didn't know what else, until he heard the blast and the voices.

"There's no getting out of here now, my reinforcements have arrived," Rodney taunted, almost drunkenly, that was the best way to describe the cloudiness in his thoughts, his speech, he couldn't think clearly, and then he heard the voices. It wasn't Shepard, it was Daniel and Adrienne, they found him, that stupid little girl of his found him and he started to laugh at the hilarity of the two archaeologists coming to his rescue.

"Where'd your goons go? I'd get out of here if I were you, she can kick his ass on a good day, hell, she can kick just about anyone's ass on a good day and if I'm reading your little gadget there right, you're not in tip top shape are you?" Rodney sneered, mocking, pointing at the light he had seen before, the countdown, as the air was once again ejected from his lungs, but he fought, knowing he was making him angry, hoping it would buy his teammates, his friends, more time.

"Just, keep, squeezing. I may be out of shape and eas, eas, easier to control but Jackson's gir, girl, girlfriend, she's, she's unstop, op, able," Rodney bragged, having never seen Adrienne fight but if this was all he had, a cheap Darth Vader like parlor trick in a weak body, one that had an expiration date less than two weeks away, he knew enough about her from Sheppard to know this was going to be a quick fight, but his plan backfired, as he felt his body being lifted from the ground, jerked by his shirt and brought nose to nose again with his captor, who was growling in his face.

"What did you say?" he hissed, the pressure relaxing allowing Rodney to laugh, as the blood rushed back into his head, making it feel light, making him feel like he was floating.

"Dr. Rowan, she's tougher than Teyla, it's over for you," Rodney answered, his head flopping back behind him.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the sensation of falling.

"He's up!" John shouted, making Daniel leap from the chair, rushing over to the cafeteria table upon which he and Adrienne had laid Rodney after unloading him from the jumper. Fully expecting to have to fight Anubis, Daniel led the way through the small back door, his right arm shielding Adrienne protectively as they entered to find Rodney and Rodney alone, laying on the floor unconscious.

"My head hurts," the physicist whined, sitting up from the table, feeling a hand at his back, a small hand, a quick glance revealing that it was Dr. Rowan, his part time assistant, assisting him right now.

"You slammed your head when you fell," she said kindly, leaving her hand at his back. Pulling away and trying not to be rude at her gesture, he sat forward, resting his arms on his legs, looking out to his audience, Daniel, Cameron and John all sitting in front of him, looks of concern on each face.

"It was him, Anubis, he was on the planet," Rodney started to explain, his voice cracking about half way through. There was another light touch and he turned to see Adrienne offering him a cup of water, which he took, slipping it slowly.

"Thank you," he replied, passing it back when he started to shiver violently, dropping the cup, water and all onto the floor.

"I'll go get some meds and something to clean that up," Adrienne declared, standing and walking out of the mess area, leaving the men alone. Swallowing again but holding still so he wouldn't fall, Rodney gazed back at his friends.

"The cloning's not working; it's worse than I thought," he started, "there is a timer on his wrist and his current body is wearing down. He did this choking thing and..." he stopped talking, the memories flooding back. Anubis might have been weak but it was just enough, Rodney had talked, he blabbed and blabbed and told everything, his stomach dropping at the realization.

"And what?" Cam asked, confused, the look on Daniel's face not much better than Rodney's.

"He did this choking thing and what Rodney?" Daniel repeated, leaning forward as Rodney began to suck in his cheeks, his eyes darting around the room.

"I'm not strong like you are, I'm not. I talked, I couldn't think, I told him everything," he admitted, throwing his hands up, muttering to himself, rubbing his face with his hands. Reaching forward, John calmed his flailing arms, looking him right in the eyes.

"Rodney, what did you tell him?" John asked carefully, fearful, blaming himself, knowing that he should have paid more attention to where Rodney had gone, that fact reiterated as he watched his friend shake his head.

"The cloning, everything from the database, the Tok'ra, Vala, everything, I couldn't breathe, I thought I was going to die until I heard you and Adrienne, that was what made me stop, he knew it was you out there Daniel," Rodney started and began to laugh, "but I told him it wasn't you he needed to worry about, it was your girlfriend," he added, laughing some more.

"What?" Daniel asked, leaning forward, his eyes wide.

"Jackson, he's weak, like I said besides that parlor trick he's falling apart. I don't care if he is the most power system lord to ever live, Dr. Rowan could tear him apart," Rodney explained, pride swelling inside that she was his assistant now too, an ass-kicking assistant, but Daniel didn't seem as pleased, his glare tearing right through him.

"Rodney, what exactly did you say? Word for word," Daniel hissed, his confused frown an evil glower.

"Dammit, I don't remember, but I told him that your girlfriend was unstoppable," Rodney answered shrugging, looking over at John, missing the millisecond opportunity he might have had to avoid Daniel's fist slamming directly into his face.

Daniel had stormed out of the mess the minute Rodney had fallen back onto the table, letting John and Cameron deal with him while he went back to the bridge to think.

_Anubis knew about Addy. _

Sitting here, flying home, faster than the autopilot had set, Daniel ran every possible scenario through his head, how much did Rodney tell, how much did Anubis know, how much was he still able to hide.

_Anubis knew about Addy. _

He hadn't sought her out, knowing that she would find him, as she always did, but then she didn't, so he sat there staring out into space until John had relieved him, promising to maintain current speed and ordering him to get some sleep.

_Anubis knew about Addy. _

Walking down the hall to their shared quarters he tried to remember what else Rodney had said. Anubis had a countdown of sorts, his body was failing, Rodney said he was weak and that is when he mentioned that Addy could take him and maybe Adrienne could take him in that state, she was special, she was magnificent, on that planet you would have never known that woman down there was just some community college professor only a short time ago. It made his heart race and he picked up his pace to rush to be with her, no longer wanting to be alone.

_Anubis knew about Addy._

She was lying in bed, laying on her side, it was late by Earth standards and she was still wearing her disguise, why, was it fear, laziness, waiting for him. Unsure, he shut the door behind him, approaching the bed and crawling in beside her. Sensing his arrival she rolled over and started to speak but he didn't let her talk, placing his hand over her mouth as he kissed her bare shoulder, running his lips lightly over her skin, making her tingle all over. He wanted her, he needed to be close to her, he needed to forget all of the horrible thoughts that had crept up on his mind as he sat on the bridge watching the stars jet by. She wriggled in his grasp, trying to shoo him away until he finally moved his hand and let her speak.

_Anubis knew about Addy._

"We shouldn't," she whispered, a weak effort as he could tell by the movement in her hips that she didn't really mean it. Not answering, Daniel pushed her onto her back, reaching for the leather lace to her top.

"You're right, we shouldn't," he answered, pulling the laces out of her bodice and tossing them on to the floor, releasing her bare breasts into the open leaving Daniel breathless, manic, like it was the first time.

_Anubis knew about Addy._

"Woolsey will be so mad," she replied, so innocent, so unaware of his thoughts, his mixture of desire and sheer terror as she reached for the laces to his breeches, pulling them out more frantically than he was now undoing hers.

"I'm sure he will," Daniel hissed back as Adrienne reached into the front of his pants, pulling him out into her hand, stroking him lightly. He let her caress him for all of ten seconds when he ripped the rest of the laces free, tearing her pants to her ankles and forcing her onto her back. Smiling, she kicked the pants away, barely having time to spread her legs before he was on her, in her, forcing her back against the wall, his desires being fulfilled in one powerful thrust.

_Anubis knew about Addy._

"Sha," she panted out, trying to grab his shoulders but failing as he frantically pumped in and out of her, breathing heavily, his pace frenzied. He hadn't meant to be so rough with her, he'd planned on coming back to their room and making love slowly and carefully like they did at home, but he had a need, an urgent need and he couldn't hold back once he started.

_Anubis knew about Addy._

Thankfully she didn't seem to mind, her initial gasp turning into rhythmic 'yes Daniel' that was driving him as wild as her state in front of him, the bodice still on and open, her breasts shaking with every push, her face in ecstasy.

She could never get sick of this, dear god this man was so amazing, in every single way. When he had kissed her shoulder so slowly, so sweetly, she was thinking that he would make love to her as they usually did, but hoping he would change his mind. The way he had been down there, the signal, the fight, turned her on more than she would have ever expected and now here he was pumping into her with that same ferocity that he had shown on the planet.

She wanted him like she had never wanted him before.

"Harder," she begged, not believing her own words, but he complied, acting in a way that she had never seen him before, a way that in the past would have scared her but it was him, so clearly him, that the act could be nothing but pleasurable. Reaching up a leg, she brought it up to rest it on his shoulder, making him stop his thrust and look down at her in surprise.

"Really?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah," she panted out, lifting her hips, arching her back to receive him again.

Looking down at her, holding her leg up on his shoulder while he slid in and out of her body, it was too much, it was too erotic, too arousing, it was like nothing they had done before, nothing he had ever done before and with one final powerful thrust he threw back his head, screaming out, unable to hold on any longer, Adrienne moaning herself, haphazardly grabbing for any part of his body she could reach, resigning herself to the hand on her hips, locking her fingers with his and squeezing.

He came down from the climb before she had stopped clenching him tightly inside of her, so he held on the best he could, thrusting into her with that little he had left, so very little as he was spent in a way he had never been with her, when he felt her let go, collapsing onto her.

_Anubis knew about Addy._

"You were loud. Again," Adrienne teased, holding on to him tightly with one hand and running her fingers through his hair with the other. He laughed from her shoulder, rubbing his cheek against her skin, before pulling himself slowly off of her body and to the side.

"Oh well," he replied, having no better answer. He was fairly sure that Rodney had heard them, hell, everybody heard them, but he knew he wouldn't say anything, after what had happened, after he had told...

_Anubis knew about Addy. He knew about this. He knew..._

"Come here," he requested, pulling her into the safety of his arms, the touch that had been so reluctant for so long easily floating into him. She nuzzled her way onto his chest, her legs reaching to intertwine with his, she wanted to be so close to him, closer than even sex made possible, and she reached for him with that urgency. There was fear in her grasp, had she heard he and Rodney's conversation because she was holding onto him like he had never felt her before.

_Anubis knew about Addy. _

"Ja-wer, are you alright?" he whispered into the darkness, leaning to kiss her head and she nodded underneath of his lips.

"I'm fine sha, just missed this, this closeness," she whispered quietly. Understanding, as he had missed this too, he squeezed her tightly, holding her carefully in his arms. He had missed this, not the just the love making, but the actual intimacy of it all. Lying here a sudden quick thought popped into his head, he had to, before he lost her, before he lost everything. Sitting up, he brushed her hair from her face with his hand, gazing down into her mysterious brown eyes.

"Adrienne, will you - " he started to ask, unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth. He was going to ask her, there, in bed, on some disgusting pirate ship after they had fought their way out of, together, yet another dire situation. He couldn't ask her, not like this, and he didn't even know if she would say yes.

What am I doing, he thought to himself, this is too soon, she doesn't want this, I don't even know what she wants; we never talk about anything other than the now.

But Anubis knew about Addy.

"What sha? Will I what?" she asked, her voice indicating that she had no idea what he was talking about.

"You're closet to my bag, I just wanted to get changed before bed, it's chilly, will you pass me my pack," he lied, the cold never bothered him, but it was the best he could think of and she seemed to believe him, slinking from his arms and pulling what was left of the vest off of her shoulders. She stood from the bed carefully and walked over to the corner securing their packs but stopping before approaching the bed.

"I know they're gross, but you want to grab a shower, since I am all about taking advantage of perks and whatnot," she led, biting her lower lip, embarrassed by her suggestion. Smiling, he nodded, standing up, walking over to where her gym bag was, towels tucked inside. The showers were down the hall, but Rodney wouldn't say a word, none of them would, and he just wanted to be closer to her for a little bit longer.

"Come here," he commanded from his seat, squinting his eyes at the bright light reflecting from the view screen emanating from the door behind him, making him take a mental note that he needed to make sure the next batch had a better tolerance for light, or at the very least his own vessel. Blue eyes glancing down at his wrist, rough ancient numbers clicked by on the small panel installed there, he scanned quickly, confirming his math that this body had approximately fifteen days left, exactly what that disgusting man had said. Those pathetic scientists from Galara were only help in the memory department, his soldiers much more cunning this round than last, but their alterations in overall genetics left much to be desired. He needed a real geneticist, he needed to hunt around and see if any of the lower lords had managed to survive and hidden into obscurity.

"Yes sir," the clone replied, heeding the request as he approached the chair quickly. Turning his head, he read the man's counter, noting that this model had only seven days remaining.

Perfect, he thought.

"I need you to assemble a team. Go to Earth. You are not to take weapons. You are not to be noticed," he instructed carefully, his left hand already sending instructions to Amuro that their brains needed to be stroked out at day six, lest this plan go awry.

"Yes sir," it repeated, he couldn't call it a he, it was a thing, it lacked what he had, a soul, power, it was just a temporary flesh covered robot.

"I want you to find out everything you can about Dr. Adrienne Rowan," he ordered, making yet another note to Amuro, one he knew that he could do.

_Add a direct brain link to Solder 34502-x straight to me. _

"Yes, sir," it answered again, like a trained dog, all that it really was, dashing out from the room and shutting the door behind it. Pleased, Anubis sat back in the chair, staring out towards the stars on the view screen.

"You don't know how easy you have just made all of this Dr. Jackson. You just don't know."


	9. Chapter 9 - Interlude Role Play

She was exhausted when she slipped his key into the lock, peering at her analog yet again to confirm the time. Yep, it was only ten at night, and not only had he gone home already, but she had worked fifteen hours today AND was still making it home before midnight.

Sometimes she hated her job.

Turning the doorknob, Adrienne didn't even bother to look up, barrelling her way into the room, head down, barely noticing how dark her surroundings were.

"I see Sam let you off early?" a voice asked from across the room, Adrienne finally looking up to see that she couldn't see, the room pitch black.

"Uh, I guess so, Daniel why are you sitting in the dark?" she asked curious, flicking on the light beside her, the lights of the room blinding her for an instant. She swore in French, rubbing her eyes, glancing up to see what in the world Daniel was doing to find him sitting in his side chair, his hands folded, staring at her. She was about to ask him again what he was doing when she paused for a moment, noting his attire.

Her boyfriend, her lover, Daniel Jackson, nerd boy extraordinaire was sitting in front of her, black jeans, a black tank-top and black leather jacket. Her mind was a whirlwind, there was no way, no way in hell he was serious when he smiled, those expensive plastic fangs she ordered on eBay in jest showing slightly.

Oh, yeah, he was serious.

"What are you doing here Eric?" she tested, hoping, praying, thinking he just might be taking her seriously...

"You invited me," he answered simply, fingertips touching.

I may die, she thought, her heart racing in her chest.

"Not tonight I didn't," she replied as she tossed her bag onto the couch, making sure to walk by him suggestively, heading for the kitchen.

"You know the rules, it is an open invitation," he countered, standing and following, Adrienne's mind racing.

What season was he playing?

Not four, Eric had no memory then...

Not five, that was that stupid religion crap...

Stop thinking seasons Ad, she cursed herself, just play along.

"You're old enough to know better," she teased, opening the fridge, bending over and reaching in for a Diet Coke, continuing to play the part.

"And old enough not to care," he replied, quickly, at her waist, at her back, pressing himself against her. He was hard already, he must have been sitting here waiting for a while, but Adrienne didn't want to start too soon, wanting to play this out a little longer.

"I might work for you once in awhile, but I'm not your property," she said, pushing him back with her butt, turning to lean on the counter.

"I never said you were," he was smooth, just like the vampire sheriff and she was dying inside, wanting to rip that jacket from his body...

"Eric, get out of here and leave me alone," she requested, awaiting his response.

"You don't think I remember but I do," he answered, flooring Adrienne, dear God THIS is why I want to marry this man, "I remember everything. You can't lie to me about what happened."

"It was a mistake..." she protested, Daniel on her, his hands at her shoulders just like her crush would have done, his lips pressed to hers.

Oh screw dialog...

Her hands were at his jeans, at the button, the zipper, fighting, pulling as he forced his way into her mouth, kissing her with urgency. She fumbled in the excitement of it all, opening his pants and pulling him through the front of his boxers feeling him pull away, sucking in air between his teeth.

"So I see you remember too?" he tried to tease, to still play his part, and she laughed, pushing him away from her.

"No?" he questioned, but she shook her head, blushing.

"You're doing great Indy, keep it up," she pecked him quickly. Nodding, he reached for her waist, drawing her to him by the belt loops as she continued to toy with him, pulling, caressing. He let his head fall back, breathing in, letting her play with his hardness.

For a moment Adrienne was afraid that he was going to just give up on the game, let her pleasure him, he certainly seemed to be going that way, when his head jerked up. He smiled, showing his fangs, making Adrienne start to soak her panties. He knew, he had to know her well enough to understand that would send her over the edge and she let go of him, moving forward to kiss him and tell him when he lifted her onto the counter, reaching for her own jeans. He didn't fumbled as she had, the zipper yanked down and her jeans on the floor before she could say a word, jerking her forward.

"I'm gonna make you mine again Sookie," he warned, pulling himself closer, running his tongue along his fangs.

"Eric we can't, what about?" she started, Daniel interrupting her with a forceful thrust inside of her, pulling her hips to match his motion.

"What about what? Bill? I don't care," he hissed, thrusting in and out as Adrienne threw back her head. She was tilting her body, moaning in ecstasy as he took her here in the kitchen when she felt him pull her forward, his lips headed for her own. Smiling she leaned forward, wanted to kiss him but he only pecked her lips lightly before heading to her neck.

And then he bit her.

She'd wanted it to last longer, she had, but the moment she felt those theatre fangs poke into her skin she completely lost control, screaming out in climax, his name and not Eric as he drove harder and faster. It was just amazing, the leather jacket falling from his shoulders, Daniel letting go only to let it fall to the floor. He leaned forward again, biting her a second time and she shrieked out, the peak increasing instead of dying down, she was coming again, dear god she was coming again...

"Daniel!" she screamed so loud that she was just waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for the neighbors to call. Releasing her neck from his fearsome bite, he lifted her from the counter, holding her to him as he brought her quickly onto the floor. He watched her eyes and she tried to tell him with her glance that the feeling was continuing, that this was more pleasurable than she could have ever imagined. He was still inside of her as he sat up the best he could, pulling the jeans from his legs to continue his maniacal thrust.

"Hang on for me," he requested lightly, the fangs still hanging onto his teeth and she complied the best she could, squeezing him so very tightly inside of her, feeling him throb and then hearing his voice as he screamed himself, her name as she had his. There was that one last push, they made love so often she knew his body as well as his motion and he was resting on top of her, Adrienne quickly realizing that they hadn't even gotten their shirts off.

"Daniel?" she asked in his ear giggling.

"Am I supposed to respond or is this a test to see if I'm still Eric or not?" he asked, breathless making her smile.

"No test. Just wanted to take a shower. With you. And the fangs. Now. Please."

"Done."


	10. Chapter 10 - Risks Love Scene

Risks Love Scene

Tossing her hair back and out of her way, she placed her palm on his face as he kissed her lips, his mouth tasting lightly of cake and batter since she had intentionally given him an undercooked cake, knowing his tastes. She turned her body, adjusting herself in his lap as he reached under her legs, pulling her closer to the hardness that was forming underneath. Gasping out, she ground down, thankful for the yoga pants she was wearing that allowed her to feel every groove of his body, every touch of his hand. He was kissing her feverishly now, pulling his lips from hers and running them softly tracing her neck, sending chills down her spine as he moved down lower and lower, his lips now at her collarbone pecking there lightly, She threw back her head, breathing out with a slight moan, grinding into him further when she felt hands at her waist and a pull, the chill of the air conditioner hitting her bare skin as he yanked the tank top over her head, tossing it into the floor.

He had to laugh as he kissed his way to her chest, reaching behind to fumble for the clasp of her bra, as he felt her doing the same at his jeans. So amazing, he thought, this is all just so amazing, her, this, forever, he had to have to forever and the emotion of it all made him work faster, finally undoing the hooks and pulling the garment from her body, tossing it quickly aside. Reaching for her face to bring her lips to his once more, Daniel kissed her slowly, letting his hand drop from her cheek and cup her breast, running his thumb around the nipple. She moaned again, hands at his pants, jerking the zipper downward, so he pushed her back, reaching to help her, dragging the zipper the rest of the way and pulling his pants to the floor. He was hard and ready, reaching out for her to remove her impediments as well, pulling the black fabric downward and pulling her into his lap, but not onto him just yet.

"What are you doing?" she asked, naked, on his lap, so close, but he composed himself, slipping his fingers between her legs. She was drenched and ready, but he wanted to make this good for her, twice as good if he could.

"Trust me," he whispered back, guiding his wandering back to the front, pressing, rubbing, searching for his goal and finding it quickly, the hardness that was now rocking against his fingertips.

"Don't do that," she panted out but didn't stop the rocking, her face in ecstasy as her eyes met his.

"Trust me ja-wer," he repeated, reaching his free hand to her hip to pull her closer to him, not losing contact for a second. The rocking intensified and she began to moan, a familiar sound and he knew she was there, lifting her slightly as he slid into her body, that same guiding hand now pushing her onto his body. She was screaming now, not too loudly, enjoying the sensation from his gentle touch, Daniel watching her carefully as he ground her onto him, trying to focus on her pleasure while pleasuring himself. He felt her relax on him, finished, yet he didn't stop, reaching behind and lifting her up, still buried deep inside of her as he laid her onto the sofa, his grinding becoming a thrust, a slow, steady, methodical thrust.

He'd surprised her with that little climax, but now as he pumped in and out of her so strongly, his glasses falling off of his face, Adrienne's mind quickly forgot the first orgasm even if her body hadn't, her hips beginning to move with the pace of his drive. Arching her back, Adrienne clenched him inside of her, eliciting her favorite reaction from him in bed, that reaction where he couldn't believe that this was happening. Gently she reached up for his glasses, his pace slowing to allow her, folding them quickly and setting them on the floor out of the way, returning her gaze and her hands to his body. He thrust in once more, hard enough that he was pushing her back into the arm of the sofa when he pulled himself forward so that he was almost on his knees, reaching down again for that spot, that same hard spot as before.

"Oh god Daniel," she panted out, telling him that he was doing well, that he was going to have his way, sending her over the edge a second time. Rubbing quickly with his thumb, Daniel reached his other hand behind, pulling her onto him as he worked her into another frenzy, feeling her writhe underneath. She was close again, clenching his thickness inside of her once more, that tight clenching of the end and he waited for her face, for that last breath she always took, laying her down the moment he saw it, and slamming himself into her, feeling the squeeze, listening to her moan, watching her body, her breasts move under his frantic torso when he let go, yelling out himself, her fingers squeezing his hips tightly.

"Daniel!" she shrieked, pulling him further into her body, a request that he was glad to fulfill as he felt himself spill into her, the sweet release of his climax, a feeling he only felt with her, allowing himself to be completely vulnerable to her once more. The sensation ended, Daniel bracing himself with his palms, spent, but not wanting to crush his beautiful love.

"Dear God Indy," she gasped, still breathing heavily and he smiled, proud of himself.

"Yay me," he joked, sticking his tongue out like she always did, receiving a laugh in return. She giggled for a moment before reaching out her hand to his face again, bringing him low to kiss her, softly and quickly, nuzzling their faces together.


	11. Chapter 11 - Joie de Vivre Love Scene

_Love Scene _

_Joie de Vivre_

It had taken the better part of two hours to get from D.C. to Richmond, two hours that was exhausting after a full day's worth of work. By the time they were checked in and settled, only Vala wanted to go out, insisting that it was boring just going to bed early like old people. Adrienne tried not to give too much away, knowing they needed to be rested for tomorrow, but Ronon saved the day, volunteering to take Vala downstairs to the bar for drinks, while both Teal'c and Cam decided to turn in for the night.

Adrienne didn't mind in the least.

It wasn't the reason for the vacation, not by far, she really wanted a get away, but Adrienne didn't argue when Daniel had taken her by the hand, leading her gently to the bed, laying her down tenderly. Smiling he crawled on slowly beside her, pausing as she pulled his glasses off of his face, continuing his advance once she had set them aside on the night stand.

There were no impediments, no possible sirens and he had tossed both of their cell phones into his suitcase, refusing to answer them as well.

Tonight it was just he and the woman of his dreams, with no interruptions.

Bringing his hand to her face, he kissed her slowly, deliberately, the wine she had poured while they were unpacking still fresh on her soft lips, sweetening the kiss. She returned his advance, pulling her body closer to his, her hands moving down his hips, grabbing his backside to force his pelvis to her own. Chuckling, he reached down to her waist, gripping the hem of her fragile blouse gently, raising it over her head, past her arms to discard it to the floor, returning his lips to her collarbone rather than her face. He knew that drove her wild, wilder than kissing her neck, but he wanted to take this slowly, so he pulled away, leaning up to remove his own t-shirt from his torso.

"I wanted to do that," she joked just as he was leaning to pull it over his head, stopping and holding his hands up like she had taken him captive. Giggling, she finished the job, pulling the shirt over his head to bring her nose quickly to his chest, nuzzling him, tickling him, making him laugh, until he pushed her away, smiling.

Returning his attention to her, where he wanted it to be, he let his fingers glide gently up her shoulder to her bra strap, pulling it down to the side, kissing, teasing his way down, moving to the other side when the first strap was hanging at her bicep. She breathed in slowly, loving that he was taking his time and hating it all the same, pushing him onto his back and climbing slowly on top of him. Pausing, Daniel gazed up at her, resting his hands on her hips as he let himself get lost in her beauty.

"I really should wear my contacts," he whispered, running his hands lightly and softly down her toned waist.

"Why is that sha?" she asked, her index finger working its way slowly down his stomach, to the top of his pants, where she was already undoing the button.

"Because I feel like I miss so much, that if I just give in and wear the damn things, I can see how magnificent you really are," he admitted, reaching his hands up her back to pull her into an embrace. He held her for a moment, so very close, like he didn't want to let go, before she sat up, pulling away, to look down at him, her hands back at his pants, pulling down the zipper. Taking her hand away for a moment to kiss her fingers, he let go, reaching to unclasp her bra and remove the garment, tossing it to the ground and turning to the side, forcing her to lay beside him on the bed.

"Let me," he requested quietly and she nodded, lying on her back to allow him to pull the jeans from her hips, kicking his own to the floor

and slipping inside of her ever so slowly.

She hissed in with pleasure at his initial thrust, her hands quickly gripping his hips, letting him guide their rhythm but wanting to feel it in every part of her body. He was slow, deliberate, lifting her slightly with each thrust, the waves of pleasure rocketing from inside, inside like only he had ever been able to do, making her moan and clench him strongly. There was a tightness around him again and he slowed his pace slightly, not wanting to end this closeness too soon. Reaching around her back, he took her into his arms, bringing them to their sides, clasping her thigh to bring her closer to him to drive deeper into her, rocking in and out of her warmth as she whispered his name, pecking his ear and kissing passionately down his neck. Eventually, she was curving her hips, thrusting herself towards him, holding him both tighter to and in her body. Fulfilling her request, Daniel clasped her butt in his hand, squeezing it, feeling a sensation within himself that he didn't want to feel just yet.

"Not so soon," she plead, kissing him lightly, caressing his face.

"I'm trying," he gasped out, too caught up in the moment to stop. Hoping to calm himself, he grabbed her waist once more, turning their bodies again, guiding her to position where she was now riding him lightly, his hands reaching out to slow her grinding onto him. She got the message, smiling, leaning forward, bringing their lips together into a passionate kiss as she rocked against him.

"I love you ja-wer, more than life," he whispered to her as he held her face close so he could see, through the haze of his blurred vision, those mystifying eyes that had hypnotized him so long ago.

"I love you too Daniel, it's alright, let go," she requested sweetly, nearly there herself, feeling him throb inside of her, the final swell before the end. Giving in to the climb he let her sit up, riding him, rocking into him, holding him tightly inside of her body and he released, letting his head relax into the pillow as the crash of feeling took over his body, only vaguely aware of Adrienne gasping on top of him, one hand planted firmly on his chest, the other frantically reaching for his hand, clasping it in her own. He hit his final peak, shouting out something he did not remember, his chest heaving as she came to a rest on top of him, curling into him, hungry for his skin against hers.

It was good to take a little vacation.


	12. Chapter 12 - When Worlds Collide Erotic

When Worlds Collide

Uncensored Love Scene

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked, trailing his beaming assistant, his best friend, his fiancee, his soon to be wife as she dragged him lightly by his fingers out the back door and past an old bench, into the darkness beyond. She had only a small flashlight in her hands, illuminating their way down a well trodden pathway at the back of the yard.

"To the gazebo, you'll see..." she replied, giggling, so happy, so very happy. He had to admit, he was too, he had expected to have to defend Adrienne, especially when the news of the baby came out, but he hadn't. Her entire family, including her uncle, were absolutely delighted and they had spent the better part of the following hour calling every Verdin and Rowan in Orleans parish and scouring the calendar for wedding dates, choosing a date, mid-January, Aunt Barbara assuring them that Adrienne wouldn't be showing very much.

"It's just ahead," she added, dropping his hand to lead the way to the edge of the water. Aunt Barbara technically lived in New Orleans, but this large patch of land off of Paris Avenue backed up to the preserve, and according to Adrienne, was one of the few rural areas left in the parish.

"It's amazing out here," he whispered after her, the glow of the city to the east bright but not enough to fade the sparkle of the stars, the winter constellations clearly painted overhead.

"Told you," she answered, still laughing as they arrived at a small white gazebo, Adrienne ducking inside.

"Come on," she ordered, "It's quiet, good view of the stars." Doing as requested, Daniel stepped in behind her, taking a seat next to where she sat, not looking at him but gazing up to the sky.

"I used to come out here as a kid. Daydream. Write stories in my head. I'd pretend that Han Solo was gonna land the Millennium Falcon right there," she said, pointing to a solid patch in the swamp ahead, "and take me away to fight for the Rebel Alliance."

She choked up at the memory, a part of Daniel wanting to joke or tease, but he didn't, just reached his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He wasn't the leader of the Rebel Alliance, or Han Solo for that matter, but he'd like to think that the world they shared together was close enough.

"You know, I had my first kiss in this gazebo," she continued, as she lay her head on his shoulder, sniffing in.

"Oh really?" he answered, keeping it simple and letting her talk, she seemed to want to talk, to share, to open up to his about this past of hers that she never had avoided talking about per se but had never really offered up.

"Yeah, I was eleven. His name was Ryan, he was my first boyfriend, which pretty much meant he walked me to class and carried my backpack," she said, giggling, happy again, so wonderful, this was all just so wonderful, that work or not, fate of the world or not, he wanted this to never end. He wanted to sit here forever, holding her hand, holding her close and talk, just looking out at the stars.

"Did he have a great opening line or did he just go in for the kill?" he teased finally, turning his head to kiss the top of hers.

"No, actually, for eleven it was pretty good. He said he liked how my hyper color t-shirt was neon green when most of the girls wore pink," she laughed, squeezing his hand, "it made me different and he liked that I was different."

"Very creative," he mocked, laughing himself, a tiny part of him thinking that young Ryan had a point; Adrienne was different and was just another reason he loved her.

"Hush you..." she whispered back, not angry in the least. Paradise, he thought, this is what paradise feels like.

"Hey Ad?" he asked in the dark, sitting up from where he had rested his head onto hers.

"What cooyon?" she giggled back.

"I like how your running shoes are yellow and not purple and pink like the other girls..." he joked, unable to resist, wanting to hear her perfect laugh right now, wanting her to share in his happiness.

"Oh really?" she asked, giving him what he wanted, that laugh, that sheer delight.

"Yeah, it's cool," he replied, trying to do his best tough guy voice, receiving riotous laughter in return.

"Even though I have big man feet?" she countered quickly, looking over at him, cocking her head and raising her eyebrows.

"They look even better because of your big man feet," he tried, failing miserably and laughing at his own poor attempt.

"Not a good line back Indy," she laughed, looking back over at him, his kind face slightly lit in the moonlight.

"Yeah, I know not even close," he said quickly, reaching over to take her into his arms, kissing her slowly, holding her face in his hands. They kissed gently in the strangely warm winter Bayou air, Adrienne pulling back laughing.

"So, we decided just to go in for the kill?" she asked, running her fingers lightly down his jaw.

"Yeah because it's clear that no one will ever have a better pick-up line than Ryan," he retorted, expecting her to laugh, tease, but she didn't, instead she leaned over, taking his face in her hands kissing him again, with more passion than before, pulling herself to her knees and running her fingers through his hair.

"Ad, what are you doing?" he asked, pulling away lightly as she crawled slowly into his lap.

"I'm kissing my future husband, in the gazebo," she whispered back, moving her lips to his cheekbone, working her velvety skin ever so slowly to his neck. He lifted his head slightly, letting her peck and tease for a moment, feeling himself tighten in his pants before again realizing where he was, pushing her back gently.

"Adrienne, stop, we can't we're, well," he stammered, nervous more so by the fact his body was considering this an option more than anything else.

"Outside?" she teased, "Or at my aunt's house?" she added, continuing her advance down his neck as she reached between them, backing up to undo the top button of his jeans.

"Both," he choked out, peeking over his shoulder at the lights of the house in the distance, noting the lantern that Adrienne had brought and set at their feet was really the only light near them. She was pulling down his zipper now, slowly, reaching her fingers inside the fly, rubbing the hardness she found there lightly. Peering herself back at the house, she pulled her hands away only long enough to shove the lantern aside, changing the shapes of the shadows cast on the walls.

"There, no one can see now," she assured him, resuming her touching. She wanted to grind on him, to feel his hardness pressed against her, but he was hissing in like he would do, so she let her fingers toy, wanting to tease him longer.

Breathing in, the throbbing now starting, Daniel looked behind a second time, seeing that the side two window lights had gone out, presumably her aunt going to bed and returned his gaze to Adrienne, resting his palms on her hips.

"You've ruined me," he joked as he walked his fingers to undo her pants, laughing lightly as he did so.

"Pretty much," she replied, standing slightly to allow him access to the zipper, watching him pull it down slowly. Tenderly, he inched his digits back to her hips, reaching inside of the waistband, grabbing and guiding her pants to the floor of the structure. She smiled, stepping out of one leg, crawling back into his lap, sitting back on his thighs as she reached into his jeans, pulling him out into the open. Grinning, reaching for her waist, he brought their lips together, kissing her slowly while directing her entrance to his lap, bringing her onto him.

"Ummm...," she groaned out as he pushed into her, situating herself onto him, rocking the moment he was entirely inside. He always felt so good, she would never get sick of this, he filled her, he completed her, he made her feel like no other man ever had. Holding his hands tighter to her hips, she ground down, pushing him impossibly deeper and flicking her hips lightly.

He let her guide their lovemaking, gentle jolts of her pelvis and light squeezing, allowing himself to relax back despite the tight grip she had on his hands as they rested at her hips. She bucked on him a few times, sends waves of sensation through his body, before he slipped his hands away, reaching for her backside to pull her down further and closer to him, desiring her depth as well as the touch of her skin. Reaching underneath, he angled her body, a quick gasp escaping her lips, making her pull away from his, her cocoa eyes locked on his blue, keeping them joined as he pulled her forward with each snap of her waist.

Knowing she wasn't going to last much longer, the excitement of being outside, doing something forbidden, as well as the feeling of him rubbing against her, at an angle he knew sent her over the edge, Adrienne concentrated all of her efforts on clenching him tightly inside her body and picking up the intensity of her motion. He squeezed her bottom, his face telling her that he was close as well, his left hand hand working its way up her back, pushing her closer to him. He wanted her kiss, he wanted her lips, he wanted to be closer as the surge of pleasure started to grow inside of him.

"Adrienne," he gasped out and she smiled, diving for his mouth, loving nothing more than when he gasped her name is ecstasy, cutting him off from a second time as she moved her tongue into his mouth, kissing him feverishly, his mouth sweet with apples from Aunt Barbara's pie. She ground harder, faster, holding him, moving with and against him, until she felt the sweet release of pleasure, throwing back her head while she forced herself not to scream his name. He was grunting, moaning, burying his face in her shoulder until he relaxed in her arms, breathing out slowly, both of them holding onto one another panting and breathless.

"You do realize that we just made love at your aunt's house, in her gazebo," she heard him finally whisper, pecking her collar bone lightly. Adrienne giggled and hugged him tighter, kissing his head.

"Are you afraid of what she would say? You already got me pregnant and we just picked a wedding date, with her. I think we're safe sha," she joked, running her palms down his back, feeling him still lightly inside of her. She squeezed one more time, a part of her sad as she always was when the intimate moment was over, standing to reach for her jeans, but he held her in place.

"Are you ok?" he whispered, running his hands down her bare hips, gazing into her eyes. Giggling, Adrienne reached for his face, running her palm down his cheek.

"Yes, I'm fine. It was amazing, as always, stop worrying," she assured him softly.

"Alright, I just don't want to hurt him or her, I know Dr. Lam said it's fine but I still worry," he whispered, Adrienne giggling. This had become their new ritual afterward, Daniel worried that he had done something wrong, something to endanger either her or the baby even though his rational brain knew better.

"Trust me Daniel, you're not gonna hurt anything, I promise. In fact, it's good for me, it's good for the baby. You should feel it right now - " Adrienne started, stopping herself before he freaked out. She probably shouldn't have mentioned how sometimes, after they'd made love, the fluttering increased. It was going to scare him, he would panic like he did, but he didn't, just reached in between them, resting his hand on her abdomen.

"Now?" he asked, gazing back up at her. Adrienne paused, concentrating, feeling the flutter to her left, moving to guide his hand and press gently.

"There, but I'm only thirteen weeks sha, it's possible to feel but not probab-" she began to apologize, when his eyes lit up and she felt him press harder.

"Oh my god," he choked out, his jaw dropping, shaking his head, "oh my god."

Adrienne didn't need an explanation, between his expression and the wild motion inside, she knew.

"That's my child...mine...I've never. That's my baby," he stammered, smiling, the look on his face just as excited as when she had told him she would keep the baby, that she wanted to do this together.

She didn't answer, just nodded, smiling, watching his azure eyes sparkle in the dim light of the bayou moon.

"It is Daniel. That's your child. That's our child. More real now?" she finally said as he moved his hand gently around her lower abdomen.

"Very. I might have to reconsider that box and bubble wrap."


	13. Chapter 13 - The Buy More Love Scene

The Buy More

"I mean, I know where we should start but, even at that, where do we start?" Jonas asked, sitting on the center table beside Adrienne, gazing at the Smartboard screen ahead.

"I think that taking this first list here and working out the pictures that I've taken, constellations, flora and fauna, cross referencing that with the Asgard databases should give us some kind of idea, at least give us a list of planets we can gate to and planets we have to take a ship to," Daniel explained, reaching behind to shut off the white display area.

"It's a gah damn shame dat dey didn't use da gates," Adrienne noted, slipping slightly in her speech, Daniel refraining from teasing.

"Yah dat's righ Ah-dee, damn shame dey done did dem like dat," Jonas replied in his stead though, Adrienne promptly flashing him the finger.

Good to know, Jonas had kept her on her toes while he was gone.

Laughing, Daniel stepped over to the projector, unhooking the iPad, walking it over to his wife.

"I think the way we've got it organized right now makes the most sense. Ad, do you think we could run off some paper copies and Jonas, could you head down and see about a projector, some coffee and anything else you can think of. This might be a long meeting," Daniel requested of his staff, weird to have a staff now, getting a nod on both accounts.

"Got it sha," Adrienne answered quickly, taking the gadget over to her laptop.

"Alright and I'll go ahead and get a list of who's coming, try to make sure we have the entire team, at least one member of the Atlantis crew, I'm guessing you want John, maybe Rodney as well, get everything started on that end," Jonas stood from the table, listing as he walked over to his desk. Daniel would have never thought it before, but a staff like this, his brilliant wife and his equally as intelligent friend, that was a staff he could live with.

Tasks assigned, they sprang into action, Adrienne at the printer, Jonas darting out of the lab, Daniel finally making it over to his computer to upload the information to his hard drive before the meeting.

Computer now transferring, Daniel glanced over his shoulder, to tell Adrienne that he was hungry, they should probably get something to eat before the briefing when it hit him, exactly how long they had been apart. Other than the kiss in the gate room, he hadn't touched her, kissed her, been close to her in weeks and meeting or not, he just couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing the remote at his desk he clicked off the security cameras, walking carefully over to the door to lock it tightly.

"What are ya doing sha?" she asked, turning to face him, bewilderment in her expression as she stood at the printer running off the copies.

"Come here," he whispered, reaching out his arms to take her into them. Smiling, confused, she let the machine run its own process, tiptoeing over to him to heed his request.

Without another word, he leaned in, kissing her lips softly as she slipped into his embrace, moving them carefully over to the center table, pushing her back against the furniture.

"I need to return this," he whispered, pulling away slightly, handing her over her music player.

"iPod AND iPad. I'm so turned on right now..." she teased, slyly.

"What can I say, I missed horrible music in my life," he taunted, reaching his lips to hers again, kissing there softy and then slowly across her face.

"Daniel," Adrienne protested without really protesting, her fingers already lightly toying at his belt, pulling the end through the loop as his lips worked their way down her neck. Slowly, tenderly, he worked his lips back up, lingering only enough to peek over her shoulder at the clock seeing that Jonas would be back soon to get them for the briefing. He hated to rush, but he couldn't wait, he needed her and by the way her hands were now roaming inside of his pants, she couldn't wait either. He felt her grab him, running her hands up and down urgently, hardening what little hadn't already been anticipating her gentle touch. Sighing, his body a flurry of emotion, Daniel reached gently for her hips, urging her back onto the table.

"Didn't this get us into trouble once before?" she asked, teasing, pushing his pants to his ankles as she adjusted herself onto the table.

"Well, we weren't married before, and we left the cameras on," he replied, his thumbs in the waistband of her yoga pants, yanking those to the floor was well. He didn't allow her to reply, although the mischievous grin across her face was enough, grabbing her hips and pulling her forward so he could slip into her warmth. The feeling hit him, the wave, as soon as he had pushed his way into her fully, making him groan out in pleasure, getting a light squeeze in return. He peered at the clock again, worried, feeling her pull closer to him, clenching herself around him.

"We've got time, trust me, and I've been staring at that loincloth for weeks," she teased, squeezing him inside of her again. Nodding, both aroused and worried, Daniel felt a hand at his chin, turning his face, making him focus on her again, his hips already complying while his brain was registering. He laughed at how ridiculous he was being, he'd missed her, missed being so close and so intimate with her that it didn't take his thoughts long to catch up, pulling her as close as he could pull himself to her, thrusting in forcefully. Moaning lightly, he slowed down for a moment just to make sure that she was alright, a tiny part of him still worrying about hurting her in her condition, but she was reaching for his hips, her fingers desperately grasping his upper thigh urging him on.

That was all the encouragement he needed, that and her feet locking behind the back of his knees, demanding him deep inside of her, so he thrust frantically, reaching to hold her with one arm and the table with another. She curled forward the best she could to bury her face into his shoulder, moaning, whispering his name into his ear, groaning, begging him to push harder which he did to the best of his ability. Squeezing him so tightly inside her body, the friction was fantastic, reminding him very quickly what he had missed in his weeks of absence, sending him to his edge. He felt her pull away slightly, angling her pelvis higher and thought for a brief moment that he was hurting her, but he noticed her shift, the angle of her back, that she was arching for friction on her own. He let go of the table, reaching his fingers between them, searching for her own hardness, finding it, flicking it lightly, feeling her teeth against the fabric of his t-shirt. She clenched him tighter, so he rubbed her faster, trying to maintain his touch and his thrust at the same time. He moved in and out of her, a steady rhythm now, feeling the build down low, the climb.

"Ad," he panted out, trying to tell her, hoping that she was close as well since he was unsure if he could control his end.

"Um hmm," she gasped back, her eyes closed tightly, her lip trembling like it would, holding him impossibly close to her. Knowing she was at her edge, he rubbed her faster, letting himself relax and spill out inside of her, thrusting madly. He bit his lip, trying not to shout out like being with her made him do, and felt a throb of pain, possibly biting down too hard. She relaxed in his arms, pecking lightly at his neck, whispering softly in his ear.

"I love you, I missed you so badly. I missed everything. I knew you'd be back, but I thought that you wouldn't..." she started, her quiet murmurs turning into soft crying, tears dampening his shirt. He paused for a moment, surprised, wondering what he had done wrong or if he had hurt her.

"Adrienne what are you talking about? Ja-wer, why are you crying?" he asked, pushing her away, dropping to the floor to get her pants, dressing her again gently. Sucking in tears, Adrienne slipped from the table, taking them from him and pulling her own bottoms up.

"I was afraid that when you came back that you would see how much bigger I had gotten, and," she started, the tears flowing again, Daniel reaching quickly for his own pants, fastening them before taking her into his arms, holding her close.

"And what Ad? Stop crying, I'm back, everything's alright, I'm back and you're fine and the baby's fine," Daniel assured, Adrienne shaking her head as more tears fell.

"I thought you wouldn't think I was pretty anymore," she sobbed, "that you wouldn't want to make love to me anymore."

"Of course not," Daniel replied instantly, realizing that this was probably a result of the hormones, holding her closer, "in fact my first thought when you came through the door to the gate room was how beautiful you looked racing in."

"Really?" she asked, pulling back, her eyes puffy. Poor Adrienne, he thought, threw up most of the first trimester that they knew about, well into the second and here they were, not even into her third trimester yet and she was an emotional wreck. He needed to make a note to pop down to see Carolyn, see if there was anything he could do to make it easier for her on his end.

"Yes really. That's my son too, it's not like you went and starting downing junk food and became some gross monster that didn't care about herself anymore. You're carrying my son, you're making a huge sacrifice for Narmer and for me. How could I ever let that change my opinion of you, at least in a negative way?" he answered honestly, Adrienne leaping up into his arms, throwing her own around his neck.

"I love you Daniel, I love you so much. I'm sorry, I'm such a mess, I'm happy one minute, sad the next and ready to punch someone right after," she apologized, pulling away.

"Good, I'll keep that last one in mind during the briefing in case Woolsey says anything stupid. You can punch him and I'll just blame it on hormones," he joked, making her laugh, her smile causing him to feel better already. Note to self, she is now possibly going to cry after sex, act accordingly. He started to walk back to his desk, realizing he needed to also visit he restroom or maybe their quarters before the briefing when he felt a grab at his arm.

"I'm not opposed to famous Egyptologists or even a pharaoh's name, but no Narmer and no Edward. The first sounds like Garfield's annoying neighbor and the latter reminds me of sparkly vampires."


End file.
